Re:Arifureta - From Commonplace to the World's Strongest
by Void's Record
Summary: A 'Re'-telling of Arifureta story with "what if Hajime wasn't alone when he fell into abyss" scenario in my style. Presenting Kaori and Shizuku as Hajime's companions in the abyss! Let's find out how the small change can affect Arifuretaverse! (Hajime-centric! M-Rated for reasons! Proceeds with caution!) [Arifureta belongs to Ryo Shirakome-sensei & Overlap Bunko] IN-HIATUS
1. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 01

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ARIFURETA.**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — Part 01**_

— **»O«—**

The death throes that the massive Demonic Beast known as Behemoth echoed soon ceased. The stone bridge made a huge rattling noise as it crumbled. Nagumo Hajime disappeared into the abyss along with the rubble. That sight played in slow motion and it filled her with despair.

Kaori was a typical pretty girl about 17 years old. She had long glossy black hair that reached her waist, and large slightly weeping eyes that conveyed a sense of gentleness. She had a straight bridge nose that was small, and thin lips of Sakura colors arranged to perfection. A girl with the endless smile, she is very caring and has a strong sense of responsibility that often people, regardless of the school year, rely on her help. She is always seen with a sincere expression without any unpleasantness, which is why it is hard to believe she was just a high school student.

At that moment, however, the usually gentle girl was anything but. She was in hysteria as she tried to break the holds on her body by her friends, who were also summoned into this other world called Tortus to fight a war against Demons, which didn't have any relation with them whatsoever.

In her head, the previous night's event repeatedly played in her mind. In the room illuminated by the moonlight, she sat here chatting with Hajime while they drank the fake black tea. That was the first time they had talked so in depth with each other. Being driven by her nightmares, she paid a sudden visit to Hajime. Even if he was surprised, he had talked to her truthfully.

After a bit, she noticed that talking to him had erased her uneasiness. She returned to her room in a jubilant mood. When she arrived back at her room, she noticed how boldly she was dressed and she writhe in shame. Kaori felt depressed because Hajime had not even reacted, in her eyes, to her looks. She felt she had no appeal. When Kaori saw Shizuku caught her making a funny facial expression, she wanted to pretend it never happened.

On that night, the most important occurrence was the promise she made to "protect Hajime". The promise that Hajime mentioned to relieve Kaori of her anxiety, but Hajime disappeared into the abyss, as she stared at him, doing nothing and breaking her promise. She kept recalling that memory over and over again. Somewhere in the distance, a scream can be heard. When Kaori noticed that the voice belonged to her, she grimaced as she was quickly brought back to reality.

"Let me go! I need to go to Nagumo-kun!"

Yaegashi Shizuku and Amanogawa Kouki had to restrain her because Kaori looked like she would just jump after him.

Yaegashi Shizuku was Kaori's best friend. Her trademark was her long black hair done in a ponytail. Her slightly slitted eyes were sharp, but in the depths, there is a feeling of softness, this gives her the impression of being cool rather than cold. She was tall for a girl at 172 cm, her posture and physique was very dignified and it was similar to how a samurai was. In fact, her family is in ownership of a Kenjutsu(Sword Art) dojo. Shizuku herself is a veteran of her family style. Since she was a child, she had never lost in a tournament. Currently, she appears in magazines as the "Beautiful Swordswoman", she even has some diehard fans. Back in their normal life in their original world, the underclasswomen would call her "Onee-sama (big sister)" because of their admiration.

Meanwhile, Amanogawa Kouki was a boy who could be called the stereotypical popular boy with good looks, athletic body, a smart mind and good personality. He had silky brown hair and gentle eyes. His body was toned and slender at about 180 cm. Kouki was nice to everyone and had a very strong sense of justice. Since he was small he attended the Yaegashi Kenjutsu dojo. Like Shizuku, he was a national level athlete. Shizuku and he are childhood friends. Dozens of girls have fallen for him, but he is always close to Kaori and Shizuku so the other girls are hesitant to confess their feelings. Still, he was a very popular guy back in Japan, the boy who got confessed to at least twice a month from all over.

"I promised! I will…I said I will protect him! Let me go!"

While screaming like a possessed woman, Kaori displayed such extraordinary power that they wondered where she got such power and how could she display such an amount with her slender body. Unlucky for them, she used that power to break free from them. If she kept struggling like this, she might damage her body. Nevertheless, they could absolutely not let her go. If they released her, she would jump off the cliff. She did not have her usual calmness, not even a shadow of it, now she had such a frantic expression. No, it might be heartbreaking to say.

"Kaori! You can't! Kaori!"

Because Shizuku could understand Kaori's feelings, she could not find the right words to say. All she could do was calling out her name desperately.

"Kaori! Are you also trying to die? It's too late for Nagumo! Calm Down! You'll hurt yourself!"

Kouki tried to best to convey how worried he was of her. To the confused Kaori that was here and now, these were not the words to say to her.

"What do you mean by "too late"? Nagumo-kun is not dead yet! If I don't go, he is surely asking for assistance!"

 _Nagumo Hajime was a lost cause..._ at least this is what everyone else thought. He fell from the cliff into that dark abyss. The composure to accept that reality, the present Kaori did not have it. If anyone was to word it though, she would just deny it over and over again. Ryutaro and the other students did not what to do, so they stood there flustered.

At that moment, Meld approached them and struck Kaori in the back of her neck without saying anything. She jerked for a moment but this point is where this story diverged from how it should have progressed. Instead of falling unconscious, Kaori held her consciousness from falling into darkness. She showed why all countless women in the unlimited worlds were worthy of respect. She forced her consciousness to stay awake by sheer willpower alone.

Usually, women were looked down upon because they were physically weaker than men. However, women could become stronger than men when the situation called for it. Women could bear the burden of long nine months pregnancy and the dangerous process of delivering the newborn baby, something that truly shows the mettle of women. And at that moment, Kaori showed such willpower because she finally realized ... that she liked Nagumo Hajime, that she _loved_ the weak boy with a very strong heart.

Kaori glared at the one who struck her, the Knight Commander Meld Loggins. Her silent glare screamed murder at him. When the veteran soldier saw that glare, he unconsciously took a step back, intimidated by the sheer intensity of the glare directed towards him by the usually harmless girl.

Hell hath no fury like women scorned, indeed!

"F-forgive me! I, I just tried to calm you." _...by knocking you out._

The Knight Commander continued in his mind, but his action was enough to speak his mind.

Kaori said nothing. The stinging pain from Meld's blow had cooled her frantic mind. She finally could think calmly, eerily. Of course, she still harbored intention to follow Hajime, but she realized she would get nowhere when these people kept hindering her.

At that moment, her mind worked in fast speed. She recalled how everything started. She realized that the friendly fire wasn't an incident. Well, there was a chance that it was really an incident, but her intuition said otherwise. She might be an airhead, not like she was aware of it, but she could become attentive person too. But, mostly, she was an airhead who couldn't read the atmosphere. However, for that moment, she wasn't.

She turned her gaze towards other students who was also dragged into this world. She saw none of them were worried about Hajime. They were flustered and in a state of shock because the tragic experience from earlier, but none of them, maybe, except Shizuku, felt worried over Hajime who fell from the bridge after he held back the Behemoth from killing them.

Realizing that, she felt sick.

"Are you going to knock me too, Amanogawa-kun? Yaegashi-san?"

Shizuku and Kouki blanched when Kaori's cold gaze was directed towards them. It was so different from her usual gentle gaze. The thin smile on her face also sent them to the edge. They couldn't help but feel uncomfortable feeling from that gaze and smile, and disturbed by the overly formal calling to their name. Because of that, they slackened their grips on Kaori's body.

It was a mistake.

That mistake would become the impetus that would change the outcome of everything.

When Kaori realized it was her chance, she slipped under their guard and dashed towards the hole.

"Wha?!"

"Kaori!?"

Kouki and Shizuku were shocked for a moment, they rooted on their spot for a split second, but that split second had created a distance between them and the unstable girl. Just like the show of extraordinary physical power from before, Kaori's speed was extraordinarily fast. When they snapped out of their daze, Kouki and Shizuku ran towards Kaori. They used «Ground Shrinker» skill to cut the distance between them and their target. However, they were already late.

Kaori jumped into the hole with a determined expression and eyes shining with unshakable resolve. Her gaze was straight ahead, unwavering as her body fell into darkness. Kouki could only gape mutely at Kaori's body, falling and disappearing into the darkness. His hand stretched forwards and his fingers spread open, grasping the empty space.

"KAORI!"

Shizuku released a shrill scream. She tried to jump down following her best friend, and Kouki had the same intention. However, they were stopped by Meld. They were knocked by the blow on their nape, and this time, the Knight Commander didn't hold back his blow. Not after what happened. He used his sheathed sword to knock them out.

And, the pandemonium erupted. The fragile foundation of their unity rattled _._

— **»O«—**

Shirasaki Kaori and Nagumo Hajime had hidden for more than a day below ground. Long lines of dried tears marred her face and her sleeve was covered in snot. She had been crying silently, pleading wordlessly at the boy laying in front of her, holding onto the unmoving body on the ground, and healing him desperately. She pushed herself beyond her limits until her «Mana» dried up. She sacrificed even what she believed to be her life force, converting it into «Mana». But it wasn't enough. Hajime hadn't awoken yet, unconscious in front of her.

Hajime had a plain oriental face with black hair and also has a slim body. He also had a kind face and attitude. Even though he looked plain, Kaori had fallen in love with him. She fell in love with him because of his personality.

He was a weak and average person with a timid and tolerant personality, but with an extremely kind and gentle heart. While a bit of a "Herbivore", he had a special type of bravery and strength of heart that would allow him to sacrifice his own dignity and well-being to protect the child from harm even though he was against great odds. His inner strength was what made Kaori fallen in love with him.

To her, it would be easy to be a hero to fight against evil if one were already strong, but it takes true strength to go against evil if one knows that they are weak. This strength of heart is evidenced by his ability to keep calm when his class faced perilous dangers by a Behemoth, while Kouki had momentarily stood paralyzed by fear until snapped out of it by Hajime. He was also an honest person and had a Motto of "Hobbies First" and would put his hobbies over everything else despite ridicule by his peers.

She had met up with Hajime when she was attacked by a twin-tailed wolf that could use «Lighting Magic». She had found out that the Demonic Beasts in this place, a place she dubbed as the Abyss, were in the different dimension than the monsters she and her classmates had fought in the upper floors of the Dungeon. She could only protect herself with Holy Element Barrier Magic «Light Severance» and ran away from the powerful monster. When she had used all her «Mana» and «Mana Potion», she finally met the dead end.

At that time, she was sure that she would die before she could even find Hajime. Just before the wolf tore her body apart, Hajime came. He leaped and kicked the wolf before transmuting the ground and trapping the wolf in what apparently was a makeshift yet durable cage. After that, they had their reunion and Hajime brought her to his hidden place.

Kaori had been crying and pleading at the boy lying only a few feet away from her. She held onto the unmoving body on the ground, healing her desperately until her «Mana (Magic Energy)» almost dried up as she tried her best to keep him alive.

When her healing magic wasn't enough, Hajime was saved by what appeared to be water, dripping into his mouth from above. Kaori quickly cupped her hands together to collect some of the incandescent liquid and feed it to him. She had to give it to him, mouth to mouth, Hajime being weak and in an unconscious state to swallow by himself.

If she was still the former Shirasaki Kaori who hadn't experienced the despair in the abyss, she would be delighted for the action. However, her mind only took priority on Hajime's survival, their survival.

The brutality of the abyss had robbed her innocent.

When some of the liquid accidentally spilled down her throat, a warm feeling began to spread from her abdomen to her aching, tired muscles. Her «Mana-reserve» had become full almost immediately and recovered her life force bit by bit as well.

Hajime was still laying on the floor, at least, his ragged breathing finally calming.

Kaori gaze fell to his left arm. No, at the stump that remained of it. Taken from him, and eaten, after he pushed her out of the way, away from the attacking Demonic Beast, out of the path of that Demon Bear's attack. It was her fault Hajime had lost his arm. This shouldn't have happened. It was wrong. Hajime, the boy she loved, shouldn't have been maimed because of her mistake. She had promised to keep him safe, and yet her carelessness had harmed Hajime.

This tragedy started when they had looked upon the spectacle of one demonic bunny laying waste to several twin-tailed wolves that threw lightning at it to no avail. The bunny's form kept appearing and reappearing, traveling in a zigzag pattern, dodging paws, teeth and lightning strikes. A popping sound and a wolf-head stuck at an odd angle, convinced her of which creature proved the most menacing.

Caught off guard, they yelped. Because of that, the demonic bunny snapped its head towards the duo, the other wolves escaping into the depths of the dungeon, fleeing with their tails tucked between their legs. It then tilted its head, almost cutely, but Kaori could only feel a sense of impending doom.

Unable to even move, she just stood there, looking stupidly in its direction. Then, its figure vanished, but a shadow filled her blurry vision. It was when Hajime had blocked the attack and fell against her. Holding onto him, Kaori returned her attention to the demon beast. It just stood there, a few meters from them, maw agape, quivering in apparent dread. Her gaze followed the demon bunny's line of sight, staring at a gigantic white-furred bear demon — named Claw Bear — in terror.

The bear trained its eyes on the trio, seemingly looking down on them, standing over two meters. It snorted then suddenly dashed forward, passing her and Hajime. The demonic bunny was attempting to flee, but its flight was cut short.

Helping Hajime stand, she noticed his left arm dangling from his elbow like a long rubber tube. She immediately tried to heal it. When she saw where his gaze was directed at, she followed his gaze and saw the demonic bear munching, quite noisily in fact, at the remains of the demonic bunny. It turned its head towards the two, and snorted, before returning its attention back towards its meal.

Kaori was feeling frantic now, urging Hajime to stand up and pulling at his shoulders. Her movement snapped him out of his daze. Her eyes darted from her companion to the bear and she barely registered its movement. The bear had swiped at her from afar, and only Hajime had realized the potential danger. He pushed her out of the way with both arms, and she fell unceremoniously on her behind.

At first, she was surprised. She was about to ask 'Why did you push me?' but no sound left her throat when she looked at him. The lower arm was severed by translucent blades shooting out the bear's claws. Hajime hadn't even noticed, looking at her strangely, before offering her the stump that used to be his left arm. She will probably never forget the faces he made during that moment, for the remaining of her life. First, the look of urgency, transforming into disbelief and then outright terror as his eyes fixated on the bloody mass at his elbow.

The demon bear leisurely made its way towards them, presumably having decided that these two little creatures that had wandered into its domain, were merely a tasty snack it could feast on. Possibly by pure chance, Hajime's arm had fallen towards the bear, and it picked the severed arm up with its claws and started chewing.

The sound of bones being crunched and flesh being torn filled in the cave, droning out even the splashes of the stream, as Kaori pushed them into the river, to get away from the unbeatable monster, to survive.

Kaori stomach grumbling returned her mind to the present. Her traumatized mind didn't react to her hunger. She heard Hajime stirring and her dull brown eyes looked into his direction again. There he lies, only a few feet from her, in a pool of his own blood. His figure was only visible because her eyes had slowly gotten used to the low level of light. The person who saved her life not once, but many times since coming into the dungeon, just remained face-down, breathing steadily. She felt pathetic. She had confidently promised to protect him, yet look at his condition. He was like this because of her. She wanted to cry, but her tears had long since dried. Her heart had shattered.

Her stomach made some unflattering sounds again. This time it was growling. She ignored it.

At that moment, Hajime was awoken by a low rumbling sound. It took him a few seconds to realize it was the sound of an empty stomach, and more seconds still, to realize it wasn't his own.

At first, Hajime wasn't certain of his surroundings. Wasn't even certain he had opened his eyes, judging by how dark it was. He noticed a familiar figure huddled next to him.

"...gumo-kun ..." the voice whispered in a barely audible, but familiar voice.

His mind was still groggy. Recent events all but erased from his mind, Hajime fell onto his side, as he tried to lean on his left arm. Something wet and slightly sticky stuck to his body. A smell of iron assaulted his nose and Hajime quickly tried to scuttle away from whatever he was laying in, falling face first into the jelly-like substance several times, every time he tried to transfer some weight on his left hand.

"Nagumo-kun!" the voice called again, a bit louder this time, concern apparent in her emotionless voice.

Yes, her voice.

Emotionless.

So alien.

It disturbed him.

He didn't think he could relate her emotionless voice with the gentle and cheerful Shirasaki Kaori back in Japan.

"Why am I still ..." Hajime started to ask, as a shimmering silvery drop fell onto his face, flowing into his mouth. Vigor filled his body for the briefest of moments. Hajime looked up, looking for where the drop had come from.

Kaori apparently heard his unfinished question and produced one of the vials she had filled with the liquid and held it towards him.

"This saved you. My healing magic isn't enough. It dropped into your mouth and you seemed to be getting better. I collected some and forced you to drink it," reported Kaori with dull, almost robotic voice.

Hajime took hold of the vial and studied its content. The silvery liquid gave off a faint glow, barely fighting against the dark. It brought a modicum of light into the darkness. But this light in the darkness had healed his injuries, no, it had stabilized him when he was already in death's jaws, had allowed him to survive.

"We should figure out where it's coming from ..."

 _..._ _and I don't wanna stay here,_ Hajime finished the sentence in his mind, deliberately avoiding looking at the pool of blood, as he began using his one remaining arm, pressing the hand, a fingerless glove with an inscribed Magic circle, against it, to transmute the ceiling the liquid leaked out of.

"Hai," Kaori agreed in monotone.

Inwardly, she was happy Hajime was awake and happier still he spoke to her. It was her fault that Hajime lost his arm. Guilt and grief threatened to overwhelm her again. She needed to be tougher, needed to stop being a burden for him.

Hajime began his work immediately. He was glad Kaori at least looked fine. No, she was far from fine. As the matter of fact, the abyss had affected her and shattered her innocence. He wanted to console her, let her crying and releasing her grief and sorrow. But, he knew, it wasn't the time. They needed to survive. He needed to keep both of them alive in this hell.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, the other had become a vital support of their fragile psyche. Making sure Shirasaki Kaori remains alive became his mission, and vice-versa. The last strand of Kaori's sanity depended on him to keep it together. She couldn't see him breaking down, or she would turn worse than her current state. She couldn't see him lament over the loss of his arm, as it would break her. No, she was already broken. But, he wouldn't let her more than that.

He needed to protect her, needed to protect them both, protecting each other, just like their promise on that night.

And for Kaori, having seen the cold hard reality of the dungeon, watching Hajime almost being killed by that demon bear, and then slowly bleeding out, right in front of her, broke her, shattered her mind, almost. What would she have to do to keep both of them alive? What could she do, really? Hajime had managed to survive. He had taken charge during the incident with the Behemoth and basically saved the whole class. He saved her when she was almost killed by the wolves after she jumped down the abyss, following him. He saved her from the demonic-bunny and the demon-beast-bear. And the most important of all, he saved her from being utterly destroyed.

He had enough, and she needed to do something. She couldn't always be protected by him. She needed to protect him too. But, what she could do? She could only heal and make a low-level barrier. It wasn't enough. She needed to contribute something.

Unaware of Kaori's inner turmoil, Hajime continued for a few meters before tunneling around the area he suspected the liquid originated from. His «Transmutation» skills had increased slightly, and whenever he ran out of «Mana», he had a few drops of the "miraculous liquid" and it replenished his stamina and magical energy.

Kaori was following behind him, not letting him leave her sight. Not a hard task considering they were in a tunnel, barely fifty centimeters in diameter. Finally, they reached a small pool of the silvery liquid, barely a radius of 10 centimeters. The more interesting thing was the stone emitting an aquamarine glow atop the pool.

The ore, about the size of a basketball, seemingly leaked the liquid, producing it in its center.

A certain legend resurfaced from Hajime's memories. Something he read in the library while arming himself with knowledge of this world.

"«Divinity Stone»?" Hajime muttered more to himself.

"You know what that is?" Kaori asked, slightly surprised he would know something like this. She scrutinized his face as she waited for her answer, trying to find something to help her with her dilemma.

"I read about it in the library, the god supposedly used it to heal his followers," answered Hajime off-handedly.

Kaori nodded, impressed by her love interest's knowledge, but the feeling was quickly replaced by guilt. She felt inferior and useless. She couldn't contribute to their survival. She desperately tried to find something, to help her. Then, she saw Hajime's thoughtful expression. She could see the exhaustion and mounting stress.

Exhaustion...

Stress...

Relief...

If Kaori was her former self, she would feel embarrassed and mortified by where her train of thought goes. But not the current her. Then, Kaori's gaze towards Hajime had changed. An unknown glint had entered her eyes. A glint he couldn't notice since he was fixated on the crystal before him.

Then a beast-like growl sounded in the tunnel.

Hajime looked from the crystal, straight ahead onto the wall, leaned his head to one side, before shaking it and turning towards the origin of the sound.

Shirasaki Kaori still had her flat expression, but there was red hue smearing her pale, sunken cheeks. She looked downwards, refusing to meet Hajime's eyes.

Perhaps due to fate or the whim of a "benevolent god", Hajime's stomach also made a sound.

"Right, I guess we should find something to eat first."

— **»O«—**

Writhing in pain, Kaori felt helpless. Flashbacks of her first menstruation and the accompanying stomach cramps could not compare but were a close to second to how she felt right now.

Unknown times have passed since the incident in the bridge with that Behemoth. Neither Hajime nor Kaori could keep with the time. Their mind was focusing on to hold back the pain from the feeling of starvation. It was new experience, excruciating and full of anguish for both of them.

As usual, the day had started so well. As well as the hellish environment in the abyss can present. But, everything wasn't perfect. Life was unfair, cruel even. But, the abyss took it to next dimension.

Hajime had used his Synergist class skills to enlarge the place where they had discovered «Divinity Stone». He transmuted a 6 Tatami-sized room and a stone bowl under the crystal to collect the drops of potion it dispensed. But these were not the only preparations Hajime and Kaori had taken.

Sure of the danger this level of the dungeon presented, Hajime made certain that both he and Kaori had access to at least one vial of potion each. The staff Kaori managed to keep would likely turn out useless in defending from the monsters inhabiting the dungeon, but it could prove handy as a focus for her White Magic: Healing and Barrier. The needed to spare the "miraculous liquid" Hajime dubbed as «Ambrosia». At least, Kaori felt useful but not much, not enough to change her plan to contribute to their survival.

Meanwhile, Hajime had made sure to study botanical books when he was still in the castle, searching for useful and edible plants. He wasn't certain if the ecosystem in the dungeon could provide any edible flora, but when they fell down they landed close to a river. River meant water, water meant fish. And fish should be edible. So, with preparations finished and plans set up, Hajime and Kaori made off to leave the safety of their tunnel.

Kaori held back the pain of starvation. She pushed forwards. She followed Hajime silently, her worn out staff in her right hand while her left hand gripped stone dagger tightly. The dagger was something Hajime had created, together with another makeshift weapon.

 _To be useful for Nagumo-kun,_ that mantra kept repeating in her mind.

When they hunted for food, they saw something unbelievable. They doubted their eyes as they saw a familiar face, twisted in despair, as the owner was in the death's maw, mutilated, and in the middle of three wolves' encirclement.

Yaegashi Shizuku.

She was down in the abyss.

Why?

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _And, the first chapter of my Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest fanfiction I humbly presented to you guys. This story is inspired by Jackie Avocado's Arifureta SI fanfiction and Arifureta with "what if Hajime wasn't alone in the Abyss" scenario I read in Japtem. For you Arifuretamania, expect a different outcome from canon Arifureta. The more hardcore version of our favorite Demon King's entourage! The more crazy head-reaping rabbits! And crazy shenanigans!_

 _As you can read, Kaori's involvement in abyss will wreck the canon. You can see how they met Shizuku in abyss and Kaori's change. What next? Well, you must wait._

 _Please don't forget to leave your review._


	2. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 02

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH - Part 02**_

— **»O«—**

In the labyrinth, there was a pack of two-tailed wolves. A pack of wolves usually consisted of 4-6 members. Because they were the weakest demon on this level, they compensated by cooperating in a group. The group that Hajime and Kaori found circling their friend was no exception, they totaled three in number. It wasn't their usual number, but it was easy to guess their number has decreased because of Shizuku's life-and-death struggle.

Hajime was dumbfounded when he saw Yaegashi Shizuku in a helpless state. However, when Kaori saw her friend's pitiful condition, her emotionless face cracked. Her dirty face, yet still with a trace of beauty, slowly contorted into shock then disbelief and finally panic before she ran towards her best friend. "Shizuku!" Kaori anything but screamed, incurring the wolves' attention. Since their reunion, it was the first time Hajime heard a loud voice, full of emotion, from Kaori.

"Ka-Kaori?" Shizuku stared at Kaori's direction. Her dull red eyes, full of despair and anguish, regained their luster, but they dimmed immediately.

The savagery of the abyss has truly crushed Shizuku's spirit. Its brutality is too much. She has thoroughly broken and given up all hope.

Ignoring the desolate look of the usually strong-willed girl, Kaori activated the only Barrier Magic she knew.

«Light Severance».

Finding another prey, they silently exchanged meaningful gaze, showing how smart and highly sentient they are, before they ran to Kaori. To them, the pitiful and helpless Shizuku was no threat. The healthy Kaori was a threat they needed to put down before they could feast.

They shot lightning magic to Kaori, which was blocked by «Light Severance». It broke. However, Kaori rapidly cast her barrier again in a mere split second. In her current state, she is in the state where all her mind is focusing only on survival. Helping Shizuku was secondary. She could think about it after arriving next to Shizuku. Furthermore, her barrier magic is her only means to survive and all her attention is focusing on casting that barrier.

For a moment, Kaori showed proficiency in barrier magic beyond Tanaguchi Suzu, another female student who is hailed as barrier mistress.

Witnessing how their attack was useless against the rampaging human-shaped bull, the wolves lunged to Kaori. There was a loud smacking sound. The light barrier shattered but all wolves were thrown aside.

If he wasn't in a deadly situation, Hajime would think the sight was amusing, comical and humorous. He immediately slammed his remaining hand, covered with a glove with magic circle inscription, a focus to help him with his «Transmutation».

"Transmute! Transmute! Transmute!"

Hajime chanted quickly while transmuting the ground where the wolves will land, creating holes that will engulf the electric canine. The wolves saw through Hajime's ruse, but the speed of their descending and their state in the air made their effort to move in vain. Hajime did another «Transmutation». With a loud shout "Transmute! Transmute! Transmute!" he covered the holes with stones, trapping the savage wolves in their temporary cages.

Hajime crept to the wolves' cages, keeping his guard all the time. When he was standing above the cages and sure the wolves wouldn't break out soon, he focused on his next task, killing the wolves.

"Now what? My transmutation has no direct killing power. Both the speed and power of my transmuting did not seem to be enough to kill the demons."

Mumbling that line, Hajime looked through a tiny peephole with his glistening eyes. The motionless wolf growled menacingly while it was in the hole. He took a quick glimpse of the girls and found Kaori was consoling the weeping Shizuku. While they were busy with their own stuff, he also needed to focus on his part.

"I wonder if I should suffocate them…but I can't wait for that."

Hajime's eyes started to shine as it gained a predatorial glint. He prepared his right arm and cast his magic. He grabbed his makeshift stone spear tightly and slowly he transfigured it while he concentrated on an image. When it was done the tip of the spear had been turned into a drill-like structure. Furthermore, it had other parts added on to it, like a handle.

"Now then, to dig!"

The spear was stabbed towards the ground where the wolf resided. Hard fur and skin made contact with the tip of the spear.

"After all, I can't stab you. That confirms my hypothesis."

Why didn't he use a sword or knife? Because it is widely known that the stronger the demon the harder it becomes. There were a few exceptions to it. Hajime had studied a lot to overcome his uselessness and from what he had gathered a normal sword or knife would be useless against these guys. Thus, Hajime started to rotate the handle on the spear. The spear spiraled to match Hajime's actions. He was using this spear as a drill to pierce through the demon's hard skin.

Applying his weight to turn it, and eventually, it started to slowly dig into the beast's skin.

"Guru-aa!"

The wolf screamed. The anguished scream of the wolf took Kaori and Shizuku's attention. Their eyes turned to Hajime and saw what the boy was doing. However, Hajime was focusing on his task too much so he was unaware of the attention he had gained.

Despair...

Anguish...

Misery...

Hatred...

Anger...

The strong dark feelings erupted in his chest. Those dark feelings were always pushed in the innermost part of his mind, left forgotten because of Kaori. He didn't want Kaori to see him like that. But, he was too focused on killing the wolves. For him, at that moment, it was only the Demonic Beast Wolf and him.

He recalled why he must experience this kind of hell.

 _How did I end up like this?_

A question he asked himself as he drilled the Demon.

His mind was weighed by the anguish and he suffered from pain and hunger. Unfortunately, because he had a clear mind, all the suffering was clearly felt.

 _If this anguish continues for so long…I rather…No! I can't! Shirasaki, and now Yaegashi! I can't die yet! They won't survive in this hell if I give up! We need to survive, together!_

Although he wished for death, a part of him still wanted to live. He remembered he wasn't alone now. There were Kaori and Shizuku. Kaori didn't know how to fight, her magic leaning towards support type. Shizuku was mutilated. Her condition was worse than his. He only lost his left arm while Shizuku lost her right arm and her left leg. They were helpless. It had become his duty to protect them.

His mind jumbled together into an incomprehensible mess.

However, all sufferings were clear in his mind.

 _Why do I have to suffer…What did I do…_

His face twisted into a savage snarl. The stress mounting his showed its effect on his worn down spirit.

 _Why did this happen…What's the cause…_

He continued to drill, ignoring the haunting anguished howl of the Demon Wolf.

 _God unreasonably abducted me…_

Hatred eclipsed his chest. He recalled how he and his classmates were summoned without their consent, kidnapped from their life, and forced to fight a war that didn't have any relation with them.

 _A classmate betrayed me…_

He recalled Hiyama Daisuke's face, the fireball that strayed, no, "aimed" to his direction, then the fall into the abyss.

 _The rabbit looked down on me…_

The small rabbit that destroyed his left hand…

 _That guy ate me…_

The white bear that tried to make him and Kaori into its meal…

Gradually his thoughts became darker. Who was wrong? Who forced their unreasonableness onto him? Who harmed him? The pain gradually turned into rage, rage led to hatred, he sought an enemy. Everything had worked into corrupt his spirit. The severe pain and starvation that wrecked his body and the events that led him here into this endless darkness.

 _Even though Shirasaki is here… Nobody has come to rescue us… only Yaegaki and she almost died! Where the fuck is that third-rate hero wannabe with twisted sense of justice, or those fools calling themselves our classmates?!_

Submerged deep by his dark thought, he missed the fearful eyes on Kaori and Shizuku's faces as they saw the demonic expression on his face.

 _If nobody is going to help us, then it's better to cut all connection with them! I won't help them next time! There won't be next time!_

His face became expressionless. Kaori and Shizuku who saw that felt shiver in their spine.

 _What…am I wishing for? I wish for "life". What type of people impedes me? My enemies. Then what should I do? KILL!_

Not for malice, animosity, or hate. In order to live, he will kill with pure intent.

All those who threaten his survival are enemies and to my enemies…

 _KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL_!

To escape this feeling of starvation,

 _Kill and Devour!_

At this moment, the mild and gentle, apologizing with a bitter smile at any sign of conflict, the Hajime that Kaori thought was strong utterly fell from grace.

A new Nagumo Hajime came into existence. A Nagumo Hajime that would ruthlessly eliminate any who stood in his way of survival. His broken heart broke again. This new heart, however, was not a weak heart that was roughly patched up. No, his new tough heart was reforged by the fires of agony, despair, and darkness.

"Does it hurt? I won't apologize. I'm doing this to live. Don't you guys eat me too? We both feel the same."

While talking, he had constantly been rotating the drill. The wolf tried to struggle desperately, but it was impossible because it had not a single gap to work against.

Finally, the drill had broken through its tough skin layer. The drill mercilessly destroyed the wolf's innards. A death cry escaped from its mouth. It screamed for a bit but soon it twitched for a bit and finally stopped moving.

"Alright, let's secure the food first."

Laughing gleefully, sounding a bit insane, he butchered the other two in the same manner. He missed the apprehensive look in the girls' eyes as he did that.

— **»O«—**

Hajime watched two women huddling on each other from the corner of his eyes. His hand didn't stop dismantling the twin-tailed wolves, even though his speed decreased from splitting his focus between the wolves and the two huddling girls.

To find Shizuku in abyss was a shock to Hajime and Kaori. Furthermore, they found her in very bad condition and almost got eaten by three electric wolves. Shizuku had lost her right arm and left leg, bloodied stump in their place. Her left hand and right leg were mangled. Her outfit was shredded, turned into rags, while her body was littered with claws and bites marks.

Kaori had scrambled to her without a second thought, deploying her «Holy Severance» and ramming herself into those wolves. They scattered because of Kaori's reckless assault. The black haired healer healed her best friend desperately in the meantime.

The ordeal with the wolves was when Hajime had lost his innocence. The Demonic Beast wasn't a simple animal. To call them sentient being won't be a mistake. He lost his innocence by killing those deadly sentient being that predated on him and his companions.

After that, they came back to their hideout, Hajime dragging the wolves while Kaori carried Shizuku on her back, abusing her weak starved body to help their disabled friend.

Although Kaori had a poker face, the tears on her face betrayed her real feeling.

Abyss was truly hell and it twisted them without mercy.

Now, they are here, in the hidden base Hajime had created, starved, mentally tattered and despaired.

Kaori had tried her best to console Shizuku. The sight of the airhead Kaori consoling Shizuku who was a wreck and weeping like a terrorized child was bittersweet. Back in Japan, it was usually Shizuku's role to be the adult, the mother hen, in her clique, but this place had shifted that role.

Hajime also realized that Shizuku is a big softy and way more girlish than Kaori ever be. She repressed that part of her and showed the persona of cool and level-head "Onee-sama (big sister)" who was not unlike a samurai because of the expectation she put on herself as the sole daughter and successor of her family's "Kenjutsu (Sword Art)" school. Before she realized it, it was already too late for her to change her way of presenting herself to others.

Now, Shizuku is utterly destroyed. It will be a hard and slow process to mend her up.

Hajime didn't hold on the illusion that Shizuku will return back to her former state, not after what she had experienced. Furthermore, her disabled state was also the incurable wound that always reminds her of what happened. It was up to her for recovering. Either she can move on and become stronger in spirit or she will stay as disabled girl with weak will and broken heart forever. Everything is up to her and only her, alone.

The stabbing pain of starvation snapped Hajime from his train of thoughts. Pressing his lips into a thin, grim line, he focused his mind solely on his task. He almost finished dismantling the wolves. The first dismantlement produced a bad result. The fur of the wolf was unsalvageable. Although he had read a book about dismantling in past, it felt different in the actual practice. At least, the second and third dismantling was proven better.

"Alright, I'm going to prepare the food first."

Hajime informed his two companions. Although he said that, they didn't have means to cook the wolves. He just cut the meat into small strips, for easy eating. Looking at the strips of meat, his starving state became apparent. It roared and demanded to be sated. But, he held himself and offered the first servings to the girls.

"No. You take the first serving, Nagumo-kun. You were the one who hunted it and prepared it. Furthermore, you must be very starving from what happened."

Kaori declined the offer strongly. Her eyes shone with strong resolution. She wouldn't take no for the answer. She wouldn't forgive herself if she kept inconveniencing Hajime.

Leaning on the wall, sitting next to Kaori, Shizuku alternated her gaze between Hajime and the raw meat. She seemed hungry, but she held herself back.

Both girls had realized that they must do anything for their survival, even doing something they never did before, like eating a raw meat. There was no disgust, only resignation. Even so, they wanted Hajime to eat first because it was Hajime who killed the beast.

"Nagumo-kun should eat it first. Kaori and I will eat after that."

Shizuku's voice was faint and meek. She sounded like a traumatized little girl.

Hajime stared back at their eyes. He scrutinized Kaori's dull brown eyes and Shizuku's wavering reddish-brown eyes. He sighed and nodded.

Since there were three wolves, Hajime decided to fill his stomach until it is full. Even though he was starving, he couldn't eat everything alone. One wolf was enough for him. He tentatively took the first bite.

"Augh, Guu, This seriously tastes like shit!"

He grimaced when he tasted the meat. The disgusting smell and taste would cause anyone to lose appetite. He forced himself to eat as quickly as possible while ignoring the horrid taste. He ate the wolf meat with a curse. The meat was very tough, and blood dripped off as he took a bite and swallowed. This had been his first meal for the past weeks. The stomach was surprised to suddenly receive the meat. Pains shot through his body at the stomach's protest.

Hajime knew he would get such a response and ignore it to keep eating. His appearance looked so feral. As the matter of fact, Shizuku had averted her eyes from the repulsing sight. Surprisingly, Kaori kept her gaze at Hajime unwaveringly.

The sight of Hajime was feral. He looked like an uncivilized caveman. Hajime did not even consider such a thought because he was happy to have a meal. He continued to eat in a daze. He was eating so much of this meat that his belly swelled and drinking the sacred water that the Church of Saints would be envious of.

After he finished his portion, he heard Kaori asked a question to him.

"How is it, Nagumo-kun?"

Hajime turned his eyes to Kaori and opened his mouth to reply. At that moment, an unusual phenomenon struck his body.

"Ah?…Augh!?"

Hajime gasped and slapped his stomach. Then, he fell down the floor, curling into himself.

""Nagumo-kun?""

He heard Kaori and Shizuku's calls, but his attention was elsewhere, namely the sudden pain in his stomach. Then, an intense pain suddenly wracked his body. Erosion, that was the best word to describe what horrible sensation he felt going through his body. The pain intensified as time passed.

"Guaa! W-What…Guu!"

Excruciating pain corroded his body. Hajime thrashed on the ground. This pain was so strong that it blew away his phantom limb pain.

He hazily realized that Kaori and Shizuku had fallen into a panic. Kaori had anything but jumped to his downed body and started healing him. Meanwhile, Shizuku had crept to his position, held his shoulder and shook it to calm him. However, the girls' attempt to alleviate his pain was in vain.

"A-Am-Brosia!"

He croaked amidst the intense pain.

Kaori understood what he meant and took a vial of «Ambrosia» they had collected. While tensing his muscle to stop his body from trashing, he drank the «Ambrosia» with Kaori's help.

The sacred water quickly went to work and the pain subsided, but a short time later the agony continued.

"Higugaa! What the…it didn't help? Augh!"

His body started to pulsate with the pain.

Thump, Thump, his body pulsed.

Even the sounds could be heard coming from his body. However, the next moment, the sacred water's healing properties started to restore his body. When it was done healing him, the pain returned. Then it was repaired again. Even the sacred water could not stunt the effects. The tremendous healing ability was actually backfiring here.

Hajime screamed as he floundered on the ground. His movement had thrown Kaori and Shizuku's bodies away from him. He banged his head repeatedly against the floor at the unending sight of his hell. Even if he wanted to die, there would be none to grant his desire, so he had no choice but to endure it. He also couldn't die, not with Kaori who was without means to survive in this abyss and the disabled Shizuku. He must endure for their sake.

Changes started to form on Hajime's body. First, his hair lost all color. Maybe because of a pain that broke his threshold, or another cause, his black Japanese hair turned white. Next, his muscles and skeleton started to thicken. Crimson lines started to emerge all over his body.

There is a phenomenon called overcompensation. This is the process the body goes through when training muscles. The muscles are broken down by the severe use and in order to compensate and adapt to the strain, it creates stronger and more muscle when the body recovers. The same happens to the skeletal system. Hajime's body was going through this phenomenon.

Demon meat was a deadly poison for humans. All of them had Magic Stones in their body, and this allowed for their wonderful physical ability with their magical power. Inside his body, this magic was strongly permeating his muscles and bones. This magic was the Special Magic that did not require the magic circles or incantation to cast, and his magic was getting altered. This kind of alteration would be fatal to a human. From the inside of the body, the poison would erode the body and destroy the cells.

In the past, anyone who had consumed demon flesh was broken to pieces and died. Hajime knew of this, but his starvation had caused him to be unable to recall this knowledge. If Hajime had just eaten the demon flesh than he would have collapsed and died. However, there was an elixir that prevented that.

Sacred water, it will restore immediately what once was broken. Because of this constant breaking and restoring, overcompensation, his body strengthened at an unbelievable speed.

Destroy, Repair, Destroy then Repair. The body changed while pulsing. It looked like he was being reborn.

A ceremony of birth to throw away the body's weakness, a metamorphosis.

Hajime's screams were like the first cry of a newborn.

Lying on the ground while supporting her body with her hands, Kaori watched the thrashing Hajime mutely. Tears fell endlessly from her eyes, drenching her cheeks. Kaori felt her world started to crumble apart when she witnessed the agony Hajime was enduring.

Inwardly, the grief, despair, and regret engulfed her heart. She regretted that she didn't accept Hajime's offer earlier. At least, she would know if the wolf's meat is safe to eat or not. She would be the one who was in agony, and not Hajime. She felt useless, pathetic, like a good for nothing, always become a burden for Hajime since she had fallen into the abyss.

On the other hand, Shizuku also felt the same anguish her best friend was feeling. She was also crying, like Kaori.

The feeling she never realized she harbored started to surface. She remembered how she knew about Hajime. It was started with her helping Kaori's research in manga, anime and light novel. She wouldn't say it loudly, but from that research, she also found something she liked. Mostly cute and fluffy type of anime and manga.

She also started harbored admiration for Hajime. Hajime was always honest with himself. He didn't even mind being looked down and insulted as good for nothing Otaku because his expressed himself openly.

Shizuku admired and envied Hajime for his honesty towards himself. She wanted to be like him, someone who's honest and open about himself. However, she didn't have the courage to express herself. She hid behind her mask. When she realized Kaori held a crush on Hajime, she stopped her admiration to grow into a romantic crush on him. However, love was a mysterious force. It was insidious and it had germinated in her heart without her knowing it. However, she hid it because she didn't want to fight with her best friend over a boy.

Witnessing Hajime in that state, she was truly worried about him and feared for his safety. She didn't want him to end just like this. She knew Hajime was the reason why Kaori's still alive, and they would be devastated if Hajime died. She hoped, prayed, Hajime would survive whatever happened to him, for their sakes.

When the pulsation stopped, Hajime went limp. Pure white was his hair color now, and crimson lines formed on his body. He was just like the monsters that plagued this level.

Hajime's right hand twitched. The closed eyes were opened slightly. His unfocused eyes settled onto his right hand. Grasping his hand into a fist, he scratched the ground. He slowly clasped and unclasped his hand to prove he was still alive. When he finished checking if he had control of his body, he stood up slowly.

"…Oh, yeah. You weren't supposed to eat demon meat…I'm an idiot…but I couldn't help but eat it."

Hajime felt foolish, so he uttered that words.

At that moment, a black blur slammed him. He felt a soft sensation on his torso and his chest became wet. He realized the black missile was Kaori. She was hugging his body tightly and sobbing hardly on his front.

"Thank god! -hic- Y-you're okay! -hic- t-that you're a-alive! I thought... -hic- I-I thought you'd die!"

Hajime felt awkward and he didn't know what to do. He never had any experience to calm down a crying girl. His eyes turned to Shizuku, asking for help. However, he discarded his idea immediately when he saw the formerly straight-laced ponytail swordswoman was also sobbing, albeit with a relieved grin.

 _Need to find a way to break this atmosphere, ASAP! H_ ajime thought in distress while standing stupidly.

— **»O«—**

Walking towards the nearby stream alone, Hajime's fingers played with the «Status-Plate».

 **Nagumo Hajime**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Level: 8**

 **Job: Synergist**

 **Strength: 100**

 **Vitality: 300**

 **Defense: 100**

 **Agility: 200**

 **Magic: 300**

 **Magic Defense: 300**

 **Skills: Transmute — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Language Comprehension**

After desperately calming down Kaori and Shizuku from their weeping episode, Hajime realized he'd changed. He felt more powerful. Then, he checked his «Status-Plate».

What greeted him was something that shocked him, even Kaori and Shizuku. He had shouted "What in tarnation?", slipping into his habit of uttering weird accent when he was surprised. Actually, it was embarrassing, but he held back the embarrassment because his slip lightened the atmosphere. At least, he saw Shizuku giggling and Kaori smiling.

His stats had all risen astronomically, and he had three new skills. But his level had only risen to eight. Since a person's level represented the proportion of the total potential they had reached, it would seem that Hajime's growth limits had increased as well. As the matter of fact, his stats could be said to have potential to surpass Kouki's Hero Stats.

There is a skill called «Mana Manipulation». If he took it literally, that would mean Hajime had gained the power to directly control mana. He had felt a weird sensation in his body and decided to experiment with his new skill.

The result was satisfactory. He could control «Mana» without focus like other summoned students. Even Kaori was dumbfounded when she saw that.

He also gained a skill «Lightning Field». It was lightning element skill he gained after eating the wolf. He realized that he gained the ability of monster he had eaten.

But, the price was too much.

Although he was still looking like a human, Hajime knew he had changed. He didn't know what he had become. He didn't show he was bothered by it in front of Kaori and Shizuku. He didn't want to affect their mental state.

He had left the girls in their hideout. He told them that he would search for edible food, an edible plant or normal animal. He didn't want them to pay their due in the abyss with their humanity, like him. They had enough already. However, he felt unsure if he could find it. To him, he didn't care if he must stave his hunger with Demonic Beast's meat. His «Iron Stomach» guaranteed his survivability.

Let's ignore about "what if" scenario. What's important is to find edible food for them. There is a stream here and I hope the normal fish hasn't become extinct or turned into Demonic Beast yet, Hajime tried to focus himself on his task.

Arriving in the stream, he returned his «Status-Plate» into his pocket. He then jumped into the stream while holding his stone harpoon tightly. He had confidence in himself that he could fight well in the water. His «Lightning Field» would give him a major advantage in the battle against aquatic demonic beasts.

Hajime searched for normal fish for almost two hours. The early part of his hunt was quite troublesome since he needed to return back to the surface because he needed oxygen. After he recklessly eaten a fish type Demonic Beast, he gained «Underwater Breathe» skill. When this skill was activated, small holes that acted like gills would appear in his neck, filtering out the water that had entered his orifice. It was a very useful skill.

In the end, he returned back with three fishes. They weren't big. The biggest was as big as his spread out palm. But they would stave Kaori and Shizuku's starvation.

While on the way back, he found useful ores that would help him in producing better quality weapons for him and the girls. He gained «Ore Appraisal» skill from level up after killing the Demonic Beasts that unluckily met him on the way to stream and the aquatic Demonic Beasts.

The ores he found on the way to the stream and from the river floor were,

 **Green Glowstone: This ore can absorb mana. When it is saturated with mana, it emits afaint green light. If you break a saturated glowstone, the light it has contained within explodes out all at once in a brilliant flash.**

 **Blastrock: A combustible ore. When exposed to fire, it burns like oil. As it burns, it slowly decreases in volume until it finally burns to cinders. Burning large quantities of blastrock in a confined space will make it explode violently. Depending on its quantity and pressure, it's possible to create flames as strong as those created by fire magic.**

 **Taur stone: A black, hard rock. On the Mohs scale that went up to 10, it would rank an 8 for hardness. It is able to handle heat and direct impacts well, but is weak to the cold. Cooling the stone makes it brittle and fragile. However, reheating it will restore its hardness.**

He had ideas to create flash bangs from the «Green Glowstone» and firearms with «Blastrock» as the gunpowder. He was impatient to start it, but he realized Kaori and Shizuku's food was his first priority on the list. He took the useful ores as much as possible with the makeshift bag from the fur of poor wolves that met him.

At long last, he came back from his fruitful travel. He got materials to create weapons, found normal fish for Kaori and Shizuku, and killed some Demonic Beasts and devoured them to level up.

When he entered the hidden hideout through the hidden entrance, he froze on his spot as he saw Kaori and Shizuku's new appearance.

Snow white hair and pair of blood red eyes, red veins-like tattoo on their pale skin, and the developed body that held explosive power behind those matured feminine curvy figures; they had changed, demonized. They had eaten the remaining wolf's meat in the room.

When they realized he had come back, Shizuku showed a sorry expression, that expression was likely because she had ignored Hajime's warning, while Kaori sent a sweet smile in his direction.

"Welcome back, Hajime-kun. Sorry, we ignored your warning and ate the meat. But we're really starving, you see. Besides, it wasn't as bad as it seems. Don't blame yourself for this, okay? Knowing your personality, you will likely blame yourself. It was our decision in the first place. So, you needn't worry!"

 _Like hell it is! You don't look like you're sorry at all! And why did you discard your humanity easily? How could I be not worry?_ Hajime retorted unconsciously in his mind. His cheeks were twitching because of his intense, complicated feelings. However, he squashed his anger because the resolution in Kaori and Shizuku's eyes. This was their decision. They had prepared for it. It wasn't his place to be angry about their choice, even though it was a wrong one. _Good grief, these two girls!_

"You two are fools!"

The girls' answer was a grin.

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _And, here is the second chapter. I hope you like it._

 _I want to edit Kaori and Shizuku Illustrations by Takayaki-sensei to show their new appearances. But, I think I'll present it after the end of the first arc. Hajime's «Underwater Breathe» skill is a non-canon skill. Honestly, Hajime had so much potential with his «Iron Stomach» skill and the girls now have it. I will abuse the hell of it in this story._

 _You can PM me for what is in your mind about this story._

 _Don't forget to leave your review!_


	3. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 03

_**DISCLAIMER IN THE FIRST CHAPTER**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH - Part 03**_

— **»O«—**

"Munch... Munch... Man, even rabbit meat tastes like shit..."

A few days had passed after the "transformation". After they settled down, Hajime immediately went to work. Since Kaori and Shizuku had recklessly eaten Wolf's meat, and by sequence turned into a demonized human, one of Hajime's problem, namely procuring normal food for them, had disappeared. He then worked on their weapon.

For his weapon, Hajime created a twisted demonic gun-blade, an unholy mix between a revolver and a bladed weapon. First, he created the revolver. It had taken a great deal of trial and error to get things the way he wanted them, but he was still overjoyed. He finally had a combat use for the transmutation that had saved his life so many times before. He began zealously working on his project, so focused on his transmuting that he wouldn't have eaten or slept for days if it wasn't for Kaori insistence.

After Kaori transformed, she had the physical strength that could lock his body with a pro wrestling move she had learned from somewhere. Of course, his physical strength was a bit above her, but whenever Hajime was forced to take a break or eat by Kaori, he yielded easily. He didn't want to accidentally harm her, even though she could heal herself easily. The other reason was Kaori's new matured figure that was pressed on him when she did that.

Suffice to say, not all part of him had been shattered by the abyss. He was still a full-blooded youth and a virgin. Furthermore, he could see that his absurd stats growth and his physical body weren't the only change in him. He found it was very hard to hold back a certain urge when Kaori assaulted him with her newfound clingy habit.

Another event happened after the "transformation". It was Kaori's confession and he would be lying if it wasn't bothering him. Kaori had confessed to him and said she realized her goodwill for him as love when she saw him fell down the abyss. She told him why she loved him and it rendered him speechless. Her confession troubled Hajime because it was his experience, and Kaori was a beautiful girl. He decided to give the proper answer for Kaori's confession after they left the abyss and told Kaori his decision. The girl agreed, but it didn't stop her attempt at "seducing" him. If it wasn't for his newfound iron-clad nerves, he would have pushed Kaori down some times ago.

Besides Kaori, Hajime also caught Shizuku's goodwill for him. Living in the brutal and savage environment of abyss had made him observant, and his newfound sharp observational skill had caught the jealous look Shizuku directed to Kaori when she openly started skinship with him. Hajime guessed that Shizuku held back her feeling because of her reservation towards her best friend. Shizuku's thoughtfulness was something he admired deeply. As the matter of fact, he felt attracted to Shizuku too.

Hajime also realized Shizuku's newfound inferiority complex because her disabled state and Hajime swore in his heart that he would find a way to let Shizuku regains her missing limbs.

Let's return back to the topic about their new weapons.

After thousands of failed attempts, Hajime finally completed it.

A modern weapon that boasted immense strength and fired projectiles that traveled faster than the speed of sound. The weapon was about thirty-five centimeters long, made of the hardest and densest material he could find, «Taur Stone», and it boasted six chambers. The barrel was rectangular. The bullets were made from the same super-hard «Taur Stone», and each shot was packed with powdered «Blastrock».

At first, he only planned his new weapon, «Donner», to be a normal revolver, but Shizuku gave him a piece of her mind.

"What happened when your enemy entered a close combat distance where you cannot use your gun?"

After retorting back "It's called Revolver!" to Shizuku, he decided to upgrade his revolver into gun-blade called, «Donner-Schnitt»[1].

He created Kaori and Shizuku's weapons next. For Kaori, he created a gun-halberd that could convert Kaori's «Lightning Bolt» with minimum Mana cost into an electric bullet that could pierce a thick stone and electrocute organic target. The gun-halberd hybrid was called «Lanzettenblatt». Meanwhile, he created a normal katana from highly compressed «Taur Stone» for Shizuku. When he wanted to name it after German word or legendary Nordic weapon, Shizuku shot his idea down and called her new weapon «Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)». Accidentally, Shizuku gained «Lighting Field» like Hajime. Only Kaori who got «Lightning Bolt».

After that, they hunted the Demon Beasts day after day. And currently, Hajime and his two ladies companions were on the break after they killed Demonic Rabbits.

"As much as the taste is disgusting, it can't be helped if we want to grow stronger and leave this hell."

Shizuku chimed in after she finished her portion. Earlier, she was freaked out when she saw how savage Hajime and Kaori when they faced the Demonic Rabbits. She didn't know why her best friend and love interest have grudges with an overpowered bunny and decided to leave the topic untouched.

By a rabbit's meat, of course, it meant the Kickmaster Rabbit meat that the species was the same one with the rabbit that was killed by the Claw Bear that had eaten Hajime's arm.

Hajime and Kaori had hoped the rabbit's meat might taste a bit better, but it was every bit as disgusting as the Twin-tailed Wolves they'd eaten so far. It was still monster meat, after all.

Despite its disgusting taste, they still ate it with gusto. Thanks to their «Iron Stomach» skill, they were able to eat as much as they wanted whenever they felt themselves getting hungry.

Using the magic they had acquired from monsters made them grow hungry quickly, and since they had used that magic to take down the rabbit, they had eaten it all to replenish their energy.

If they overused their magic, their hunger pangs would flare up again, and while they wouldn't die thanks to the «Ambrosia» they carried with them everywhere, they still needed to be careful about how much magic they used.

Speaking of Shizuku, she had a prosthetics left leg from below her knee. Hajime had created it from «Taur Stone».

"Hmmm... It was pity we must kill such cute creature."

As somebody who loved something cute, Shizuku regretted the cold-blooded murder on it.

"Well, at least, it gave useful skill."

Kaori commented while dancing in the air with her newly gained skill «Air Dance». She looked graceful and exotic while spinning and jumping in the air. Furthermore, her minimum attire that consisted of the tube top and Bloomer from Twin-tailed Wolf's fur showed so much skin.

Hajime couldn't help but ogle Kaori with amazed eyes.

"Pervert!"

Hajime averted his eyes from Kaori when he heard Shizuku's word. Then, he decided to check on his «Status-Plate».

 **Nagumo Hajime**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Level: 12**

 **Job: Synergist**

 **Strength: 200**

 **Vitality: 300**

 **Defense: 200**

 **Agility: 400**

 **Magic: 350**

 **Magic Defense: 350**

 **Skills: Transmute [+ Ore Appraisal] [+ Precision Transmutation] [+ Ore Perception] — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Supersonic Step] — Language Comprehension**

"Well, it seems that our stats are growing up sharply when we only eat new monster."

Hajime agreed with Shizuku's words. Although they had eaten mainly the Twin-tailed Wolves in past days, their stats didn't rise up sharply like after eating the Kickmaster Rabbits.

"What about yours?"

Hajime stared at Shizuku's «Status-Plate» with interest.

 **Yaegashi Shizuku**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Level: 21**

 **Job: Swordswoman**

 **Strength: 175**

 **Vitality: 250**

 **Defense: 190**

 **Agility: 750**

 **Magic: 400**

 **Magic Defense: 400**

 **Skills: Swordsmanship [+ Thunder Flower] — Prediction — Sign Perception — Stealth — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Lightspeed Step] — Language Comprehension**

Unlike Hajime and Kaori who only got «Aerodynamic» and «Supersonic Step» as the sub-skill of «Air Dance», Shizuku gained «Lightspeed Step» and her «Ground Shrinker» had disappeared. It seems that her «Ground Shrinker» was incorporated into «Supersonic Step» and transformed into «Lightspeed Step». For her sub-skill «Thunder Flower», it appeared after Shizuku gained her «Lightning Field».

"Isn't your Agility is broken Shizuku?"

Hajime smiled bitterly when he saw Shizuku's Agility stat.

"Well, I'm a glass cannon type of fighter who use sure-kill attack and hit-and-run tactic. It's important for me to have high Agility. Besides, Kaori has off chart Magic and Magic Defense stats."

Like what Shizuku had stated, Kaori had off chart Magic and Magic Defense stats. They were on par with Shizuku's Agility. If Shizuku is a glass cannon type fighter who used the hit-and-run tactic, Kaori was a magic specialist in the group. Meanwhile, Hajime was the all-rounder and his level was still lower than the girls.

"Let's accompany Kaori training our new skill, shall we?" asked Hajime.

"We shall" was Shizuku immediate answer.

— **»O«—**

"Dammit, why can't I find it...?"

Hajime shouted in frustration after another dead end. It had been several days since the Kickmaster Rabbits species had become extinct. In between of those days, Hajime had got his revenge on the Claw Bear, the accursed Demonic Beast that ate his arm, alone [2].

When he returned back to his hideout with the corpse of the Claw Bear, his female companions chewed him out brutally because of his recklessness. Then, they ate the bear's meat and gained skill from it. Everyone gained «Gale Claw». On the other hand, the bear's fur was sewed into a vest and mini skirts by Shizuku.

After that, they tried to find a way to leave this floor. They searched every nook and cranny to find stairs leading up, but to no avail.

At this point, they had mapped over 80% of the floor. After killing the Claw Bear, Hajime and his companions' stats had made another huge jump, so there was no longer anything on the floor that posed even a mild threat to them. As such, even though the floor was vast, their search progressed rapidly, and without incident. Despite that, they were unable to find any stairs no matter how hard they looked.

Actually, that wasn't strictly true. While they had been unable to find any staircases leading up, he had already discovered the staircase leading down two days ago. As the labyrinth was strictly divided into floors, it stood to reason that there had to be a staircase leading up as well, but no matter how he searched, they couldn't find it.

Hajime had already tried transmuting his own staircase up to the floor above, ignoring the rules of the dungeon. The only thing he had discovered as a result was that past a certain point, whether he tried to climb up or down, the walls around him simply stopped responding to his transmute skill. He could transmute as much as he liked within the confines of the floor, but the layers that separated the floors seemed to have some kind of magical protection cast on them. The Great Orcus Labyrinth had been created during the Age of the Gods. So it wasn't that odd for it to have some mysteries still.

Which was why Hajime and his companions had spent their time searching for the actual staircase, but they were soon coming to realize that they would need to make a choice about what to do if they couldn't find it. That choice was whether or not to delve deeper instead.

"Calm down, Hajime." Kaori put her hand on Hajime's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"...Another dead end. At this point, we've investigated all the pathways. What on earth is going on here?" Shizuku sighed tiredly, forced to accept that they weren't going to find a staircase leading up.

After some discussions that ended up in resignation, they began heading back to the room where they'd found the staircase leading down. The staircase they had discovered two days ago was very roughly carved. It was closer to a bumpy slope than an actual staircase. Moreover, there was no green «Glowstone» lighting the way, and the descent was steeped in darkness, giving off an ominous atmosphere. The darkness and shape of it made the entrance resemble the gaping jaws of some humongous beast. It felt as if once they entered, they would never be able to come back out.

"What do you think?" Hajime stared at his two companions, waiting for their answer.

"I'm going to wherever Hajime goes," Kaori replied firmly. The way she was fusing over him was bordering to the level of obsession. It was unhealthy and troubling Hajime and Shizuku. As the matter of fact, she would eat a new Demonic Beast first to check up if it was going to harm him. Hajime and Shizuku had talked about it to Kaori, but the healer of the group was stubbornly keeping her stance.

"Same here!" Shizuku gave Hajime a resolute nod.

Hajime exhaled deeply then smiled fearlessly to the stair to the lower level. "Hah! Bring it on! I'll devour anything you throw at me!"

And without any further hesitation, he stepped foot into the darkness. Kaori and Shizuku exchanged silent gazes and nodded firmly. Kaori then walked in front of Hajime while Shizuku kept the rear.

Once they started down the staircase, the darkness enveloped them fully. While it generally made sense for an underground labyrinth to be dark, every floor they had passed so far had been lit with «Glowstone». Even if it hadn't been bright, it had never been so fully dark that they couldn't even see their hand in front of their face. Witch such darkness, they had walked closely until their shoulder touching each other's shoulder.

However, there was no «Glowstone» lining the staircase. Hajime stopped for a while, hoping his eyes might adjust, but no matter how long he waited, all that his eyes took in was black. Because he suddenly stopped, the girls were tripped and fell down the floor, dragging him in their fall. They became entangled with each other. Because of darkness, they couldn't see their position and made a ruckus.

"This hand! Ahn! Hajime! Where are you touching?!"

"Shizuku? So, this is your breast, huh? They're so firm even though they are big!"

"Take off your hand from my breast! And stop groping it! Pervert!"

"Ah! Sorry! But, whose hand is on my crotch?"

"Fuehehe... Little Hajime is big!"

"Kaori!? Get your hand off my dick!"

"Lemme get some more!"

"Hajime, where's your hand moving to? Stop! Don't get lower!"

"Sorry, Shizuku! I can't see!"

"Unh, Hajime! You knead my butts too hard!"

"Forgive me Kaori! It's accident! And, take off your hand from my dick, dammit! This isn't time for it!"

"Are we going to do it later?"

"Keep your mind out of the gutter woman!"

"You two, get a room, dammit! And Kaori, take off your hand from my breast!"

"How did you know it was me Shizuku-chan?"

"You have a smaller hand than Hajime's! That's it!"

Something like that happened in the darkness.

After some scuffle and more accidents, they finally untangled themselves.

Hajime dug around in his makeshift rucksack, created from the leftover bear leather and transmuted wire, and pulled out a green «Glowstone» to light his surroundings. Carrying a light source in the darkness was tantamount to suicide, but Hajime reasoned that he had no other means of moving forward.

With the help of the dim light, Hajime saw the red faces of Kaori and Shizuku. It was easy to see that Shizuku was embarrassed and mortified, but in Kaori's case, it was different. Her glazed look showed she was likely aroused.

However, he decided to be serious and dragged Kaori's mind out of gutter forcefully, with Shizuku's help of course. Then, he asked Kaori to hold the makeshift lantern for her limbs were still intact.

After a while of walking forward, Shizuku's «Sign Perception» caught something in the darkness, deeper down the passageway. After Shizuku signaled Hajime and Kaori, they strained their senses, suddenly vigilant.

Sticking to the shadows as much as possible while they advanced, they suddenly felt an ominous feeling approach from their left side. At the threat, Shizuku as the fastest quickly cut whatever it was with her lightning clad sword. Then, Kaori lighted it with the «Glowstone».

Illuminated in the ghastly green light was a massive two-meter long gray lizard with golden eyes. Its head split into by Shizuku's attack.

"What kind of monster is this?" Kaori showed a confused expression.

"Who knows?" Hajime shrugged his shoulders and began dismantling the lizard.

"Are we going to eat it?" Shizuku looked apprehensive. She was very girlish inside. It was normal to be apprehensive about the idea of eating a lizard.

"Well, whatever skill we gained from eating this thing will help us later."

At Hajime irrefutable argument, Shizuku resigned to her fate. They ate the meat hurriedly then checked their «Status-Plate». Hajime informed the two others first.

"I got «Petrification Resistance», «Night Vision» and «Sense Presence»."

"Me too! But, I lost «Sign Perception»."

"I got «Petrifaction Resistance», «Night Vision», «Sense Presence» and «Petrifying Gaze»."

""For real?"" Hajime and Shizuku retorted at Kaori's luck in getting such abnormal status debuff skill.

After Hajime harvested anything valuable from the lizard he dubbed as Basilisk, they continued their slow and carefully journey. Along the way, Hajime sulked because he couldn't get the «Petrifying Gaze» like Kaori, and the two girls desperately consoled the boy. Because «Night Vision» and «Sense Presence», they could move easily in the darkness.

They continued walking through the darkness. They searched for dozens of hours but were unable to find a staircase leading down. They continued defeating enemies, getting new skills from devouring new enemies, and picking up the useful rocks they found on the way, and before long he found himself laden with more things than they could easily carry. That was when Shizuku finally decided that it was time they made a base for themselves.

Hajime put his hand on a nearby wall and transmuted it. The wall opened up easily enough, and they walked into the passage he made for them. Hajime continued transmuting the area around him until he had space about nine tatami mats wide. Then, before he forgot, he took the basketball-sized pale blue crystal out of his rucksack and placed it onto a cavity he had carved out for it. He had, of course, brought the «Divinity Stone» with his group.

He had also brought along containers to hold the «Ambrosia» that he set underneath the stone with the help of Kaori and Shizuku.

Once they settled in the room, Hajime began transmuting new supplies for himself and gave their weapons maintenance.

Crafting even a single bullet took a great deal of concentration. His bullets needed to be extremely precise. In order to make use of «Donner-Schnitt»'s rifling, he had to get the size and shape exactly right. And he couldn't make a single mistake in compressing the «Blastrock» packed within them. Each bullet took about thirty minutes to make, but Hajime was still proud of his skill with the craft. Humans really are creatures that display a terrifying amount of strength when they're desperate, Hajime thought, impressed with himself.

Besides, though it took time, his bullets were powerful enough that he had no reason to complain, and each one he made trained his transmuting ability to new heights, so it really wasn't a waste. Thanks to his training, he was now able to purify any mineral or ore of impurities, and he could even decompose an alloy into its composite parts. He also had the power to fuse ore together to create new alloys. Hajime's current transmutation skill was on par with the kingdom's best blacksmith.

He silently continued his work while Kaori and Shizuku watched his activity closely. Deep in his own thing, Hajime basically ignored the fascinated looks from the girls. The girls had made a habit of watching Hajime engrossing himself in his task. In their mind, that Hajime looked so much reliable, and it eased their tension.

While Hajime did his job, he silently contemplated their progress. They had only descended a single level from their starting point, and Hajime had no way of knowing how much further this abyss continued. He planned on returning to his search the moment he finished transmuting. If he wanted to get home, he couldn't afford to waste time lounging around. A sentiment Kaori and Shizuku shared with him.

Once they resumed their search, Hajime and Co. stopped only when Hajime needed to return to base and replenish his supplies. He had no way of knowing how long his search would take if he let himself rest while searching. The girls didn't seem to mind, but Hajime was troubled because he was the reason why they stopped their search many times. Thanks to their «Night Vision», they no longer had any problem seeing in the dark, and «Sense Presence» let them know when there were any monsters within a ten-meter radius. Their scouting of the floor progressed swiftly and their unity became more solid the longer they experienced this hardship together. So far, Shizuku had joined Kaori in "forcing Hajime to rest", or to put it bluntly, cuddling with him.

Finally, they discovered the stairs leading down to the next floor. They stepped forward without hesitation.

The ground of the floor below was sticky, like tar. In fact, the entire floor resembled a huge swamp. Their legs easily got stuck in the ground, and Hajime and his ladies had a hard time moving. Hajime frowned as he saw how difficult it was to move, then proceeded to climb up a protruding boulder. Kaori and Shizuku followed his example wordlessly. From there they used «Aerodynamic» to advance through the sky.

As they continued moving forward, Hajime constantly used «Ore Perception» to look for new minerals. Among the ones he discovered on this floor, one was of particular note.

 **Flamrock: A glossy black mineral. When heated, it melts into tar. It melts at 50 degrees Celsius and catches fire at 100 degrees Celsius. When it burns, it can reach temperatures of up to 3000 degrees Celsius. The length it burns depends on the quantity of tar.**

"...Seriously?" Hajime grimaced and raised one of his legs. As he did so, the tar he had stepped in numerous times since setting foot on this floor squelched loudly as it dripped off his shoe.

"What's wrong Hajime?" Kaori gave him a worried gaze when she saw his expression.

"This tar is actually a liquefied mineral called «Flamrock», and when it burns, it can reach 3000 degrees Celcius. So, no attack that can cause a flame. It means we can use lightning or gun-mode of Kaori's and mine weapons." He doubted it would ignite that easily since 100 degrees wasn't so easily reached, but on the off chance it did, it would set off a chain reaction that would literally have this floor engulfed in fires hotter than hell. Even the «Ambrosia» wouldn't be able to save them from that.

Listening to Hajime explanation, the girls became alarmed. They nodded wordlessly and watched the tar warily. A moment later, Shizuku stared at Hajime with a smug expression.

"What?"

"If I didn't tell you to add blade on your gun, you'll be powerless, right?"

Although Hajime was annoyed by Shizuku who poked fun at him, he was truly grateful for the swordswoman suggestion.

"Don't worry, Hajime! I'll protect you even if I must sacrifice my life!" Kaori declared resolutely. She had a fearless smile on her face, and her grip on the pole of «Lanzettenblatt», or as Kaori affectionately called it "Lan-chan" tightened, showing her tension.

"That will be troubling." Hajime had a troubled expression as he scratched his cheek. He turned his eyes to Shizuku, seeking help.

Knowing what she should do, Shizuku sighed with fed-up expression. "Listen, Kaori. I don't think it's going to be good if you sacrifice your life easily like that..."

With that, Shizuku gave Kaori sermon on why she should cure her unhealthy obsession in protecting Hajime whose physical strength and endurance was higher than herself or Kaori's. But, it ended in failure because of Kaori's obstinacy. After that, they continued their progress in searching for the stairs leading down.

Hajime and his entourage continued conquering the labyrinth.

They descended down floor after floor until they had gone another 50 floors past the one that had the «Flamrock». They didn't meet any problematic event on that floor. The Tar Shark that would jump out of the sea of tar suddenly would be cut down by Hajime or Shizuku or hindered by Kaori's barrier before it was cut into sushi.

Their progress was fast. They had lost all sense of time down in the dungeon and had no way of guessing how many days had passed. Though it still took time, it was clear he was progressing through the labyrinth at a ridiculously fast pace. In the alternate timeline where Hajime was alone in conquering Orcus Great Labyrinth, the time spent by that Hajime was twice longer than this Hajime and his entourage.

They worked together in a single unit seamlessly. Their trust to the others was absolute, and it was like they could read other's next move to chain a deadly combo. There was some hardship, but it was never brushed with death when they had to fight all sorts of unbelievably powerful monsters that would decimate the dozens summoned students in mere seconds.

Among these monsters was a huge rainbow-colored frog that could spit poison and a giant moth that, oddly enough, looked a lot like Butterfree from old Pokémon franchise. The frog they had encountered on a floor that had a faint poisonous mist spread throughout it, and the moth had the ability to spread its scales through the air. Scales that paralyzed anything they touched. Had it not been for the Kaori's skill, they would waste «Ambrosia» that was better being kept for the more dire situation.

They had, of course, eaten both the moth and the frog. There had been some reservation to eating the moth, it was the first time Shizuku vehemently denied to eat monsters, Hajime and Kaori forced it into Shizuku's mouth with unhinged smiles and villainous laughter and mad giggle. They reminded themselves it was to make them stronger, which helped them power through that meal, though, Shizuku stopped talking for sometimes until the other two apologized while prostrating for an hour.

They, most importantly the girls, had remembered feeling vexed when they'd discovered that the frog had actually tasted better than all the other monsters so far. And though they were deep underground, they had even gone through a floor that resembled the Amazon Jungle. It had been incredibly humid and the air hung thick around them.

That had been by far the worst floor they had traversed. The monsters they had met on that floor had been giant centipedes and living trees.

Hardened as he was to most things, even Hajime had been completely creeped out when a giant centipede had come crashing down from a high up tree branch. Shizuku had become berserk on that floor, and Hajime swore he saw the illusion of six-armed, three-faced demon above Shizuku. It was the most disgusting sight she'd ever laid her eyes on. And the centipede had split itself into various segments to attack them, too. Hajime and Kaori just stayed in Kaori's barrier as Shizuku's after images filled the entire floor, the whirlwind of «Flash Claw», which was her version of Hajime's «Gale Claw» with more precise cutting attack, ripped all centipedes apart, and the sound of oversized centipede's death throes echoed ceaselessly for a few hours. Shizuku had been unresponsive and pale like a corpse for a long time after that, and it was Kaori's job to clean the centipede's blood covering Shizuku's body from head to toes.

The tree monsters of that floor were basically the Treants Hajime had seen in RPGs. They used their roots to attack from underground, while also flinging their branches around like whips. Though the real strength of those fake Treants didn't lie in such simple skills. When they were in trouble, they would start shaking their heads wildly, flinging crimson fruit at their enemies. The fruit they threw didn't hurt, and just to test it, Hajime and Kaori had tried eating one. When they had, they had stood rooted to the spot for almost an hour. The fruit had contained no poison. In fact, it had tasted delicious. It was sweet and refreshing, like watermelon. Despite expectations, it was nothing like an apple.

The fact that the floor was the most unpleasant one they had encountered yet completely flew out of Hajime and Kaori's head. Even their resolve to conquer the labyrinth temporarily left their mind. It was the first time they had eaten anything aside from monster meat in months. That fruit was also something that snapped Shizuku out of her unresponsive state.

Their eyes became that of a hunter, and they spent a great deal of time hunting down the fake Treants. By the time their craving for their fruit had finally been sated, the Treants had been hunted to total extinction. If someone arrived on that floor not long after that, they would find the floor was free from monsters.

And so, they continued progressing through the floors until they had passed 50 of them before they knew it. And still, the labyrinth continued endlessly downward. For the record, Hajime and his entourage's current stats looked like this.

 **Nagumo Hajime**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Level: 24**

 **Strength: 880**

 **Vitality: 970**

 **Defense: 860**

 **Agility: 1040**

 **Magic: 760**

 **Magic Defense: 760**

 **Skills: Transmute [+ Ore Appraisal] [+ Precision Transmutation] [+ Ore Perception] [+ Ore Desynthesis] [+ Ore Synthesis] [+ Duplicate Transmutation] — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Underwater Breathe — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Supersonic Step] [+ Steel Legs] —Underwater Breathe — Gale Claw — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Language Comprehension**

 **Shirasaki Kaori**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Level: 32**

 **Strength: 580**

 **Vitality: 770**

 **Defense: 560**

 **Agility: 630**

 **Magic: 1420**

 **Magic Defense: 1420**

 **Skills: Healing Magic [+ Blessing] [+ Miracle] [+ Ten Thousand Heavens] [+ Increase Effectiveness] [+ Increase Healing Rate] [+ Increase Healing Rate] [+ Increase in Magic Power Efficiency] [+ Continuous Activation] — All Elements Aptitude — Barrier Magic [+ Light Severance] [+ Holy Severance] [+ Heaven Interruption] — High Speed Magic Power Recovery — Restrain — Examine — Focus — Infiltrate — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Bolt — Gale Claw — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Supersonic Step] [+ Steel Legs] — Curse [+ Petrifying Gaze] [+ Poison Fog] [+ Paralyzing Powder] — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Language Comprehension — Compound Magic**

 **Yaegashi Shizuku**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Level: 34**

 **Strength: 740**

 **Vitality: 830**

 **Defense: 760**

 **Agility: 1560**

 **Magic: 680**

 **Magic Defense: 680**

 **Skills: Swordsmanship [+ Thunder Flower] [+ Flash Claw] [+ Extreme Blade] [+ No Beat] — Prediction — Stealth — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Lightspeed Step] [+ Sword Hand] — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Language Comprehension**

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _[1] Imagine the gun-blade belonged to Archer Alter/Detroit Emiya from Fate/Grand Order._

 _[2] This scene just same with the canon. See LN or WN if you're curious._

 _Third chapter guys, I humbly present it for you! I hope you enjoy it. I have read the new chapter of Arifureta After III and the second epilogue of Kousuke's second arc. Suffice to say, I laughed like mad man! I'm currently very motivated to write this fanfic! I want to add him as Hajime's right hand soon!_

 _Next time will be the appearance of a new member of our Demon King's entourage._

 _DON'T FORGET TO GIVE ME YOUR REVIEW PLEASE~_

 _Some skills are original/ non-canon. Below here are their short explanations and if you can find it, you can check the LN/WN or Wiki about the skill._

 _ **Hajime's original skill:**_

 _Underwater Breathe - grants small holes acting like fish's gills to breathe underwater._

 _ **Shizuku's original skill:**_

 _Extreme Blade - mixing swordsmanship Flash Claw and Lightspeed Step to create fast endless sword attack._

 _Sword Hand - same with Hajime's Steel Leg but it's using a hand in a chopping stance instead._

 _ **Kaori's original skill:**_

 _Miracle - mid-level healing magic_

 _Holy Severance - mid-level barrier magic_

 _Curse - magic that grants abnormal status effect on the target_

 _Lightning Bolt - shooting lightning to the target, a long range counterpart of Lightning Field_


	4. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 04

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH - Part 04**_

— **»O«—**

Hajime and his entourage spent some time in the base he had created for this floor, the fiftieth since the Tar Floor, sharpening their skill, giving their weapons the needed maintenance, and resting their body properly. They had already discovered the stairs leading to the next floor, but there was a location on this floor that seemed distinctly different to him and the other two. An ominous atmosphere seemed to pervade the space around it.

At the very end of one of the side passages was a room which contained a set of majestic double doors, each three meters tall. On each side of the door was a statue of a cyclops sunk deep into the recesses of the wall.

When they had tried to step into the room, Hajime and Co. had felt chills run down their spine and had beat a hasty retreat, deciding that room was dangerous. Of course, the retreat was only temporary. He and his girls were going back to prepare and had no intention of skipping past that room. After all, it was the first thing he had run into these past 50 floors that were "different." There was no way he wasn't going to check it out. Kaori also showed her interest to what inside the room. It seems that only Shizuku who showed doubt about the room, but she was helpless against the other two's strong interest in the mysterious room.

They were filled with both expectation and trepidation as Hajime thought about the door. However, once they opened it, he knew some kind of disaster awaited. Still, it was also an opportunity to call forth the winds of change in this never-ending hell.

"It's just like Pandora's Box... Now then, I wonder what kind of hope awaits me when I open it." Hajime gazed at the double doors with interest.

"Pandora's Box? Isn't it said to bring disaster than hope, no?" Shizuku still showed her resistance against Hajime's intention to check out the room.

From her research about Anime, Manga and Light Novel with Kaori, she knew what Pandora's Box is.

Meanwhile, Kaori was alternating her gaze between the two Cyclops' statues. Her red eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room, giving eerie light.

"What's it?" Hajime found Kaori's action was a bit strange. His question took the Demonic Priestess' attention, and Kaori turned her eyes in Hajime's direction.

"These statues, no, these monsters are alive."

"What did you mean, Kaori?" Hajime gave Kaori an incomprehensible stare, mirrored by Shizuku.

"It's weird. My «Examine» tells me these statues are monster and alive." Digesting Kaori's report, Hajime rubbed his chin and made a thoughtful expression. He stared at the statues with interest.

"Maybe, they are inactive Golems or Gargoyles perhaps?" Hajime showed his fantasy knowledge he gained from his hobby. Kaori and Shizuku who had some knowledge of Japan's subculture didn't have any problem following Hajime's words.

"So, are we going to wake them, kill them, and eat them?" Kaori asked the leader of their group frankly. Even though it had never been discussed properly, Hajime was unofficially the leader of their group. Shizuku followed Kaori's gaze and waited for Hajime's decision. Being the center of two beautiful young women's attention and looked up with intense gaze would make Hajime nervous wreck back in Japan, but he is different now. They had experienced hell together and supported each other so far. They had the unmeasurable deep bond, which was tempered by the hardship they forced to triumph.

"It's quite obvious, isn't it? A famous monster like Cyclops likely has an interesting skill that can help us in the long run. But, firstly first, we need to wake them from their slumber, and I have an idea how to do it." Hajime smiled fearlessly in the girls' direction.

"Well, usually, a guardian type monster will appear when something they are guarding is in threat. If my guess is correct, we need to open the door to wake them up." Kaori tilted her head slightly, crossed her right hand on her torso, unintentionally making her breasts bigger, while holding her left elbow, and tapped her chin with her left index finger. She had a thoughtful expression.

Shizuku had a calm expression while fingering the handle of her «Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)». She was ready for action. It had become her new habit when she was excited or nervous. Hajime and Kaori knew that. They also felt excitement and trepidation for fighting the famous monster like Cyclops and found out what's in the room.

When all their preparations were complete, Hajime slowly moved to the doors. Hajime's footsteps grew steadily more wary as he attempted to enter the room with the double doors. He made it all the way to the door without encountering anyone.

Upon taking a closer look at it, Hajime realized the craftsmanship of the doors was even more impressive than he had initially thought. And that there was a magic circle carved into a tiny hollow on each of the two.

"Huh? That's odd."

"Is something wrong?" Kaori gave Hajime a puzzled look at Hajime confused reaction after he checked the double doors.

"I studied quite a bit back at the castle... but I still don't recognize this inscription." Back when he had still been ridiculed as worthless, Hajime had spent all his time studying to compensate for his lack of combat ability. Of course, he hadn't had enough time to learn everything there was to know about this world, but it was still unsettling that he couldn't recognize a single symbol on the circles. Of course, Kaori and Shizuku hadn't known what Hajime experienced in the hand of their so-called classmates. He had a plan to tell them, but he hadn't found a perfect time to share it yet.

"Something you don't know? Shall we continue this expedition or proceed to the next floor?" Shizuku stared at Hajime with inquiring eyes.

At that, Hajime pondered a little bit and closed his eyes. He recalled what happened to him, them, so far. So much hardship and the high price they had paid for their survival. Since it had been this far, it would be an insult to their bitter experience, and Hajime didn't want that.

Opening his eyes, Hajime alternated his eyes to Kaori and Shizuku and showed a firm expression.

"We don't know what's inside the room. But, there's a chance, small it may be, to help us go back to Japan. And if something inside this room is proven to be a danger for us..." Hajime trailed at the end of his sentence and showed a fearless smile to the girls.

""We kill it!""

Kaori and Shizuku's resolute voices overlapped each other. They gave determined nod in Hajime's direction. They didn't show any hesitation when they uttered that world. Going back home and keeping each other safe was their sole motivation for now.

After that, Hajime returned their nod with his own then faced the double doors again.

 _Does that just mean this spell's really old?_ Hajime pondered over the magic circles as he investigated the doors, but he was unable to discover anything of note. The conspicuous placement of the circles just screamed "trap" to Hajime, but he didn't have enough knowledge to derive any hints from his investigation. Meanwhile, Kaori and Shizuku were flanking him, standing at his sides and ready to defend Hajime from any ambush.

 _Guess my only option is to transmute it like always._ Hajime finally met the conclusion of his investigation. He had already tried pushing and pulling on the doors, but they hadn't budged. And so, he had turned to his trusty transmutation skill. He placed his right hand on the door's surface and began transmuting.

But the moment he started pouring «Mana» into his hand...

*Zap!*

"Uwaah!?" A bolt of red lightning ran down the door, blasting Hajime's hand and body away.

""HAJIME!"" Kaori and Shizuku ran in Hajime's direction in panic. Tendrils of smoke rose up from Hajime's hand. Seeing his condition, Kaori immediately applied her mid-level healing magic, «Miracle», to heal him. If she had higher healing magic, she would use it without second thought, but she hadn't gained it yet. So, she used this instead.

A second later, they heard a deep roar.

"Uoooooooooooooooh!" It reverberated throughout the entire room.

Hajime and Kaori didn't move from their position since Shizuku had stood in front of them. Her «Raikiri (Lightning Cutter» was unsheathed and her posture showed her readiness to defend her companions. Any threat getting close to Hajime and Kaori would meet the sharp edge of her blade.

"Wow, this is a clichéd as it gets." Hajime smiled sardonically as he watched the two cyclops statues suddenly spring to life and start destroying the wall that held them. Their petrified skin rapidly regained its color, going from gray to dark green.

The Cyclopes fit the fantasy description for them to a T. They each wielded swords nearly four meters long that they had pulled from god knows where. Currently, they were struggling to free their still–entombed lower halves, determined to eliminate the unwelcome intruder.

Ignoring Kaori's chiding, "Now, be silent and let me focus on healing you!", Hajime fired «Donner-Schnitt» directly at the right Cyclops' glaring eye. With a ferocious *BANG*, the electrically accelerated Taur bullet pierced through its eye, made mincemeat out of its brains, and pulverized the wall behind it as it exited the back of its head.

The Cyclops on the left stared blankly at its now deceased companion. On the other hand, the dead one twitched for a few seconds before collapsing forward, making the entire room shake as its huge frame crashed into the ground. The fall of such large creature raised a massive cloud of dust. Taking away its attention from Hajime and Co. was the last cyclops' mistake.

The last cyclops heard a sound of whistling wind and its instinct screamed at it to move. But, the Cyclops was already too late. Shizuku appeared in front of its face with electricity imbued «Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)» thrust to its eye. The sharp katana pierced its eyes and continued to its brain. The electricity covering the katana added the lethal element of the sure kill attack. Before it realized, the last cyclops had died, killed by Shizuku.

"Sorry, but we're not a nice enough guy to wait for you to break free." The dead cyclops hadn't seen that coming, in more ways than one. For Hajime and his girls, who had survived through countless bitter struggles, it was merely a natural course of action to take. Yet...he still felt a twinge of pity for the cyclops.

"Hajime! Please be silent and let me focus on my work! This isn't time to say your cool line!" At Kaori's words, Hajime's expression soured. The Demonic Priestess really didn't know how to read the mood.

"Let him have his moment Kaori. We know that Hajime hasn't fully graduated from his eighth-grade yet." While gliding on the floor, returning to her friend's position, Shizuku made fun of Hajime.

"Eh? Really? But, isn't Hajime a sophomore high school student like us? How hasn't he graduated from eighth grade?" Still healing Hajime, Kaori showed her confusion, tilting her head cutely. Though she had done research about Japan's subculture with Shizuku's assistance, there were some parts Kaori still hadn't understood yet. Shizuku's lips wriggled as she held back the urge to laugh at Hajime's expense.

Hajime held the instinctual need to writhe in agony from the mental damage Shizuku had given him. Though his body was motionless, his cheeks and brows were twitching from his complicated feelings.

"Alright, you have your fun at my expense, Shizuku. And Kaori, I think you have healed me enough, and please forget what Shizuku has said." Listening to Hajime's words, Kaori stopped her treatment. Hajime quickly stood up, followed by a second later. He saw the impish smile on Shizuku's face and ignored it. He moved to the dead Cyclopes warily. When he realized they were honest-to-God dead, he used «Gale Claw» to strip its flesh for meal.

Hajime and Co. ate the Cyclopes' meat wordlessly. They felt a sting in their stomach, but it only happened in split second. They checked their «Status-Plate» and found a new skill called «Diamond Skin» from devouring the Cyclopes. After the trained with their new skill into acceptable level and prepared for their expedition into the mysterious room, they huddled close in front of the door. As he glanced back to the door, an idea sprouted in Hajime's mind.

He used «Gale Claw» to cut open the Cyclopes and extracted their «Mana Crystals». Shizuku quickly followed his example then gave the bloodied crystal to Hajime. He accepted it without fanfare. Ignoring the fact that they were dripping with blood, he carried the two fist-sized «Mana Crystals» over to the double doors and placed them in the two indents.

They fit perfectly. After a brief delay, they began pouring gouts of dark red «Mana» into the magic circles. The sound of something snapping echoed in the distance and the light began to fade. «Mana» started diffusing through the room at the same time, making the surrounding walls glow with a bright light. The room was suddenly filled with more light than Hajime and his girls had seen in ages.

They blinked at the sudden brightness then pushed open the door, clearly on the lookout for any traps. He was stopped from entering by Kaori's hand on his shoulder. Hajime realized Kaori's intention, but he gave the healer a stern gaze.

"Wait in here. I'll check inside first."

"But!" Kaori stopped her protest when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She averted her eyes from Hajime and saw Shizuku shake her head. Chewing her lower lip, Kaori grudgingly followed Hajime's instruction. But, she was ready to jump in when Hajime needed her help.

Shizuku took back her hand and rested it on the handle of her sword for easy draw. Like Kaori, she was preparing herself for jumping to help Hajime when he needed it. Furthermore, she was the fastest one of the group. She had higher chance to assist Hajime when he needed it.

Hajime entered the room alone. The room on the other side of the door was a pitch black, with not a single light source to be found. However, a combination of his «Night Vision» and the light spilling in from the room outside was enough for him to dimly make out his surroundings.

The interior of the room was composed of the same marble-like substance that Hajime had first seen in the church cathedral. Two rows of thick pillars, spaced out at regular intervals, extended all the way to the end of the room. In the very center of the room was a huge cubical slab of rock. Its surface was glossy, and it shone from the reflected light coming in from the room behind.

Hajime took a closer look at the cube, noticing there was something that glowed faintly jutting out from the center of its front face. It looked almost as if it was sprouting out of the rock. Intent on getting a closer look, he threw the doors open wide, and signaled his girls to hold them in place. He didn't want to make the classic horror movie mistake and enter only to find the door shut behind him.

He stepped carefully and froze a second later because whatever was in the center of the cube stirred.

"...Who goes there?" He heard a faint, hoarse, female voice. Startled, Hajime looked over to the center of the room again. The "something" he had seen earlier was squirming slightly. The light pouring in from the other room revealed that something's true form.

"What's it, Hajime?" He heard Kaori's voice from far behind. But, he ignored it because what was in front of him. He got closer to get better look while keeping his guard all the time.

"A... person?" The something sprouting from the rock was indeed a person. Because the soft and weak voice and the distance between the rock and the doors, it was unlikely for Kaori and Shizuku to hear the spoken words. The girl was buried in the rock from the neck down, and her golden-blonde hair dangled limply in front of her face, much like the ghost from a certain famous horror movie. Eyes as red as the blood moon peeked out from between gaps in her hair. She looked to be rather young. Still, despite her haggard appearance and her hair covering the better part of her face, it was still clear she was quite beautiful.

Hajime stiffened in surprise; he hadn't expected to see another person so deep in the labyrinth. It seemed the girl was just as surprised to see him too, as she was staring at him in dumbfounded shock. For a moment, silence engulfed the dark room.

"Hajime? Is there a problem?" Kaori's voice from outside snapped him out of whatever spellbound Hajime and the mysterious girl in silence. He took some deep breaths to steady himself, and then resolutely said...

"Sorry. I'll just leave now." He went to go back and close the doors again. But before he could, the blonde-haired red-eyed girl hurriedly called out to him once more. Her voice was hoarse and weak, most likely from years of disuse, but the desperation in it was clear.

"W-Wait...! Please...! Help me..."

"Don't wanna," Hajime replied curtly then returned his attention to the doors.

A truly heartless reply.

"Wh-Why... Please... I'll do anything, so..." She really was desperate. Though she could barely move her neck, she still raised her face up to look at Hajime.

But even then, Hajime only gave an irritated reply. "You know, I really doubt it'd be a good idea to free someone that's clearly been sealed all the way down here in the deepest pits of hell. That just spells trouble. As far as I can tell there's nothing but the seal in here... and it doesn't look like that'll help my escape at all, so..." It was a fair argument.

However, there were few people so devoid of sympathy that they could so easily ignore a girl's pleas for help. It was clear that the old, kind Hajime had long since perished.

Though he had refused her so bluntly, the girl continued hopelessly calling out for help.

"No! *Cough*... I-I'm not anyone bad...! Please wait! I..." He almost arrived at the door; he continued his step, ignoring the mysterious girl's desperate plea for help. He could see Kaori and Shizuku's expressions, the mix of surprise and wary because they heard the voice. He had signaled his girls to close the door, but just before he passed the doors and the two confused and wary girls, he ground his teeth. Had he been a bit faster he wouldn't have had to hear those last words of hers.

"I was betrayed!" He, Kaori and Shizuku too, heard that loud, desperate shout.

Hajime froze. The girls' confusion deepened because of the myriad of emotions in Hajime's eyes. Hajime's shadow blocked the light that illuminated the darkness within. He could imagine the blond-haired girl's red eyes were desperately gazing at his back. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Finally, Hajime turned his body around, scowling unhappily at the situation at hand.

He ignored Kaori and Shizuku's look that was filled with confusion and uncertainty.

No matter what she had said, he hadn't planned on helping her. He figured there must have been a very good reason someone was sealed all the way down here, far below the light of the sun. And there was no proof that she wasn't dangerous, either. In fact, it was likely that she was just some evil creature that was trying to deceive him into releasing her. He should have just left her.

 _Seriously, what the hell am I doing?_ Hajime sighed to himself as that thought passed through his mind.

"I was betrayed!" — To think those words would stir his heart, the heart he thought he'd long since buried. He thought he had already forgotten about the classmate who had flung that fireball at him. He thought he had already thrown away paltry feelings like hatred and sympathy. In order to survive in this cruel world, he had to.

But the fact that the girl's words had shaken him so deeply meant that he hadn't completely buried his old self. Enough of the old, kind Hajime still lived that he could sympathize with this girl's circumstances, which were so very similar to his own. Well, it isn't entirely correct either. He had Kaori and Shizuku, but it was very complicated.

He scratched his head uncomfortably and walked up to the girl. Of course, he still remained vigilant. He didn't forget to give a meaningful glance to Kaori and Shizuku to keep the doors open.

"You said you were betrayed? But that still doesn't explain why you're trapped here. If you really were betrayed, how come they sealed you in this rock?" The girl seemed shocked that Hajime had actually come back.

She stared fixedly at Hajime through her dirty golden locks, crimson eyes gleaming in the darkness. He began growing impatient at her continued silence.

"Hey, are you listening? If you don't want to talk, then I'll just head back now," he said brusquely and turned on his heel. The girl came back to her senses with a start and quickly began speaking.

"I am one of the original, atavistic vampires... because of the extraordinary power I was gifted with... I worked hard for the sake of my country and my people. But then... one day... my retainers all... said I wasn't needed anymore... My uncle... said that he would be king in my place... I...was fine with that... but because I had so much power everyone was afraid of me, they thought I was dangerous... They couldn't kill me... so they decided to seal me here instead... That's why..."

She spoke haltingly but desperately, her parched throat making speech difficult. Hajime sighed as he heard her tale. She had certainly suffered a cruel fate. However, during the course of her tale, he heard some things that nagged at him. He felt an inexplicable, complicated feeling well up within him, so he asked the following:

"So does that mean you were some kind of royalty?" She nodded furiously at his words.

"What do you mean they couldn't kill you?"

"...I heal automatically. No matter what kind of injury it is, it'll just heal by itself. Even if you cut my head off I'll regenerate eventually."

"Th-That's quite the ability... So that's the power everyone was afraid of?"

"That too, but... the main thing was that I could control «Mana»... directly, without a magic circle."

Hajime nodded and replied with a simple, "I see."

After consuming monster flesh he and his girls had become capable of freely manipulating their «Mana» as well. They needed no chants or magic circles to enhance their body, or use the special magic they had acquired. Same with his transmutation skill.

However, Hajime and Shizuku had zero affinity for magic, so even if they could manipulate their «Mana» directly they still needed a huge magic circle to actually cast anything, meaning they effectively couldn't use it for much.

But with this girl's magical affinity, being able to directly manipulate «Mana» turned into an insanely powerful asset. Because while everyone else had to waste time preparing circles and chanting their spells, she could just blast off magic like nobody's business.

Frankly, it wouldn't be much of a fight if she chose to take someone on. And to top it off, she was immortal. It probably wasn't perfect, and there was most likely some way to actually overcome it, but even then it was a cheat level skill far surpassing that of any hero's.

Overall, this girl was like Kaori, albeit she was a pure offensive type mage while Kaori was mostly a support type mage with odd offensive and defensive abilities in here and there.

"...Please, save me..." She begged softly as she watched Hajime sink deep into thought.

"Hmm..." He stared unblinkingly at her. She stared right back. They spent what felt like an eternity gazing into each other's eyes. He got closer to the girl.

Her eyes widened as her expectation rose. Her lower lip trembled, his face inching closer, his hand reaching up to her face. Softly parting her hair with his fingers with a gentleness his whole body language had not even hinted at. His hand moved to the top of her head and gave her light pat.

The girl was dumbfounded. But, his hand left her head. A tinge of regret in her eyes, her facial muscles unchanged, still unused to forming expressions. Hard, like porcelain, from decades, centuries of disuse.

Hajime sighed. Hajime's palm touched the stone. Cold seeping through the fingerless glove, the transmutation circle long since faded, but he had outgrown its usefulness. It wasn't needed anymore. Then, he pushed his «Mana» into the cube, trying to transmute it.

«Mana» practically poured out of him, squeezing through the palm of his hand, before being lost within the stone. The dark red sparks grew in intensity, however, the cube he was trying to transmute remained unchanged, as if it was resisting the force of his «Mana». Just like the bedrock that lay between each floor of the labyrinth. Nevertheless, unlike those it wasn't as if his magic was being completely nullified. Little by little, Hajime's power began seeping into the cube.

"Guh, this thing's tough... but I'm not so weak anymore!" He poured yet more «Mana» into his spell. It was enough «Mana» that it would have taken six verses to chant out, were he not able to manipulate it freely. Finally, he felt his magic start taking effect. The tremendous volume of «Mana» dazzled bright crimson, illuminating the entire room in a fiery red.

And yet Hajime continued pouring «Mana» into his arm. Seven verses worth, then eight. The part of the rock encasing the girl began to tremble at that point.

"I'm not done yet!" He pushed even harder, pouring a ninth verse's worth of «Mana» into the stone. At that point he had burned enough «Mana» to cast some of the most advanced spells in existence and still have some left over.

The girl stared at him fixedly as his «Mana» grew brighter and brighter, determined not to miss a single moment.

Cold sweat poured down his back as he kept going. This was the first time Hajime had tried to cast such a large-scale spell. If he lost focus for even an instant, the massive amount of «Mana» he was wielding would go berserk. But even after all that, the cube refused to budge. Desperate, he threw all the «Mana» he had into the spell. Finally, the portion of the cube entrapping the girl began to melt like hot butter and dribbled to the ground, slowly releasing her from her stone prison. But, it wasn't enough.

Hajime wasn't sure why he was going so far for a girl he had just met.

But for some reason, he just couldn't leave her alone. Even though he had sworn to himself to eliminate all obstacles in his path and to live only for the sake of his goal, he still continued transmuting. _Seriously, why the hell am I doing this?_ He mentally admonished his actions, but then he reasoned that everyone makes exceptions sometimes and stubbornly thought, _I decided to do this, so there's no way in hell I'm quitting halfway!_

However, he didn't want to exhaust his «Mana» fully. Who knew what would happen next. If he was alone, he would use brute force until his «Mana» exhausted. But, since he wasn't alone, he called for help.

"Kaori! Could you get here and help me?"

The vampire princess gazed in Hajime's direction quizzically. A second later, she turned her eyes in other direction as she heard a hurried sound of footstep. When she saw Kaori, her red eyes narrowed. Meanwhile, Kaori was focused on Hajime to notice Yue. She immediately hugged Hajime from behind, pushing her well-endowed breasts on Hajime back, then used «Infiltrate» to send «Mana» into Hajime.

The girl's eyes narrowed when she saw Kaori's action then widened when she didn't see magic circle or hear incantation from the girl. Then, Hajime's crimson «Mana» rampaged without impunity, brute forcing the cube like raging beast with energy to spare.

As the rock slowly fell away, her modest breasts were fully visible. Next came her waist, then her hands, her thighs, and finally the cube melted away entirely and she was free. Her completely naked body was clearly emaciated, but it still had an alluring charm to it. She slumped to the ground in an exhausted heap as soon as her body was fully free. It seemed she wasn't strong enough to stand.

Hajime sat down in front of her. He was panting heavily. Even though he got Kaori's support, he felt tried from transmuting the cube that sealed the blond-haired, red-eyed vampire princess.

Suddenly, the girl put her hand over his and grabbed it. Her small, slender, and frail hand trembled as it entwined with his own. He gave her a sidelong glance, and realized she was looking right at him. Though her face was expressionless, a wealth of emotions dwelled within her crimson eyes.

In a small and trembling, but powerful voice, the girl conveyed her feelings.

"Thank you." Hajime wasn't sure he could ever express the emotion he felt at those words. He just knew that the heart he thought he'd discarded began glowing with a faint, but resolute light.

He sat there quietly, his hand in hers. He wondered how long she must have been trapped there, suffering. As far as Hajime knew, the vampires had gone extinct hundreds of years ago. At the very least, that was what had been written in the history books he had read in the royal library.

Even when she had been talking to him earlier, her face had remained expressionless, which meant that she had at least spent a long enough time in this solitary dark cell to forget how to speak, and even how to show emotions.

According to her tale, she had been betrayed by someone she trusted too. It was a wonder she hadn't gone insane. Perhaps that had been due to her healing factor? But if that really were the case, that meant she had been tortured for centuries by her own abilities, unable to even sink into the release of madness.

 _But, is that really the case?_ Hajime wondered briefly if the vampire princess was really sane. He was apprehensive of his own decision regarding the formerly sealed vampire. _Guess, I will take wait and see approach. If she's proven as a real danger for us, then..._ Hajime's internal monologue stopped abruptly as the girl's hand squeezed his.

"...What's your name?" she whispered to Hajime. His smile grew awkward as he realized they hadn't told each other their names yet. He replied quickly, without a hint of hesitation in his tone.

"Hajime. Hajime Nagumo. What's yours?" She nodded, affirming something in her mind. After she finished that, she opened her mouth to answer his question, before hesitating for a moment and thinking better of it.

"...Give me one."

"Huh? You want me to name you? Don't tell me you forgot your actual one?"

Considering how long she had been imprisoned here it wasn't impossible, but the girl shook her head slowly.

"I don't need a name from the past... I'm fine with whatever name you give me, Hajime."

"...Haah, It's not so easy to just think up a name..." The reason she wanted a new name was probably similar to the reason Hajime had reformed his heart. She wanted to throw away her old self and be reborn. Hajime had practically been forced to change by the pain and starvation, but it seemed she wanted to be reborn of her own free will. And the first step toward that transformation was getting a new moniker.

She looked expectantly up at Hajime. Hajime scratched his cheek as he thought, but a voice suddenly broke the peaceful atmosphere between them.

"Excuse me…I hope you didn't forget I'm also here, Hajime."

Flinched, Hajime turned his head and gazed at Kaori from the corner of his eyes. The Demonic Priestess was leveling a flat gaze at Hajime. She crossed her arms under her breast and drummed the floor with her left foot. Hajime felt cold sweats trickled on his back, feeling nervous by the emotionless gaze of Kaori. He had forgotten the healer for a moment, and he was introspecting silently.

"Ah…" The vampire princess stared in Kaori's direction. Unlike her gaze to Hajime, though it was still flat but there was a trace of warmth in it, her gaze to Kaori was flat, cold and devoid of any emotions. Her gaze was as if saying "Who is this nuisance?"

"Ah, eh, of course, not, Kaori. Anyway, this is Kaori, Kaori this is, er—" Hajime tried to introduce Kaori to the vampire princess, but he hadn't given her name yet. At that moment, Hajime realized the girls were ignoring him in favor of glaring each other with frigid eyes.

It was the beginning of their endless rivalry for the first position in the future.

When Hajime saw that, he deadpanned and wondered if he had made a mistake.

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _Next will show what Yue thinks from her 3rd person viewpoint. This Yue will be different from canon Arifureta's Yue._

 _Don't forget to leave review, please~_


	5. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 05

_**DISCLAIMER IN THE FIRST CHAPTER**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — Part 05**_

— **»O«—**

The former Queen of the Vampire stirred when the unfamiliar light pierced through her eyelids. For a moment, she thought it was only the hallucination. But...

"A...person?"

She blinked when she heard the confused voice. From the deep tone, it belonged to man. She was unsure if her mind was playing trick again or not, but she collected her courage, and her eyes focused on the light through her messy golden hair. When he saw a white-haired red-eyed boy got close and froze at her sight, she realized it wasn't a hallucination. Her eyes drank the boy's appearance like someone who had been lost in the vast desert and finally found an oasis.

There was another voice in the light's direction, behind the boy, snapping them from their freezing spell.

"W-Wait...! Please...! Help me..." How long had it been since she spoke last time? Her throat was parched. It was painful to speak, but she endured the pain for her only hope to leave this damned darkness.

"Don't wanna." Her hope almost crushed when she heard that curt, heartless reply, but she desperately held herself together. She didn't know if she had another chance after this young man's appearance.

She knew the danger of this Labyrinth, created by the Mavericks who wished to bring chaos and destruction to the world. It was what she believed from her study in past. So, someone who could step on this floor was very strong. The lower place of this dungeon was filled with freaks and monsters, and only someone who was beyond comprehension could venture this far.

"Wh-Why... Please..." She really was desperate. Though she could barely move her neck, she still raised her face up to look at the boy. She needn't let this chance go. Tears threatened to spill out. Tears she didn't know she still had. The red eyes flashed.

"I'll do anything, so..." She pleaded. Shame threatened to crush her heart because she must lower herself to plead like a common beggar. Though formerly, she was still a queen of her people, a royalty, before that person betrayed her. She held back the instinctive need to writhe for offering such outrageous thing. However, if it meant her freedom from this accursed place, she would really go with her promise, even though she would demean herself. At least, it was better than being trapped in here forever. How long had she been down here? Why was she condemned to this nightmare?

The boy stopped, a small light filled her heart, and hope was still present. It was all but crushed with the next argument he spoke.

"You know, I really doubt it'd be a good idea to free someone that's clearly been sealed all the way down here in the deepest pits of hell. That just spells trouble. As far as I can tell there's nothing but the seal in here... and it doesn't look like that'll help my escape at all, so..." It was a fair argument, so fair that she lost how to appeal him. She had prepared herself to be nothing but his plaything or his mere tool, ignoring her pride that fought against her bold decision.

Though he had refused her so bluntly, the girl continued hopelessly calling out for help, trying to appeal desperately. "No! *Cough*... I-I'm not anyone bad...! Please wait! I..."

He almost arrived at the door; he continued his step unhindered, ignoring her desperate plea for help. His body slowly became smaller as he walked to the light. So far away. She would lose her only chance to leave this place. She didn't know how long she would wait for the next person to arrive in this depth...

...Ah! She felt despair she once experienced again when that person she trusted the most betrayed her. She was always betrayed. Even her hope betrayed her in the moment of her utmost need.

"I was betrayed!"

She unconsciously shouted that, with a desolate voice full of bitterness and despair.

The boy froze. She was surprised by that. Did he change her mind? Was the word she unconsciously spoke affected him? Was he also betrayed, just like her?

The shattered hope came together, stronger. She realized it was a double-edged sword. If he left her alone, the damage to her psyche would be fatal. But even then she would let the future her to deal with the consequence of it in future.

She waited, ten seconds passed then twenty seconds passed. Finally, the boy turned his body around. He walked in her direction. The closer he gets, the stronger her shock.

"You said you were betrayed? But that still doesn't explain why you're trapped here. If you really were betrayed, how come they sealed you in this rock?"

She was shocked that the boy had actually come back, so strong her shock that his question flew straight on her head. She stared fixedly at him through her dirty golden locks, engraving his appearance in her memory. A part of her found the boy wasn't bad looking. It was true the boy looked dirty, like the commonplace beggar. But, she guessed it was because of the hardship he'd experience as he ventured down this hell.

"Hey, are you listening? If you don't want to talk, then I'll just head back now," he said brusquely and turned on his heel.

She came back to her senses with a start and quickly began speaking. She wasn't sure what she should tell him. Was the truth enough? But, would she accept her when he found out she was a monster?

Before her mind finished thinking, her lips had moved first, spilling the truth.

"I am one of the original, atavistic vampires... because of the extraordinary power I was gifted with... I worked hard for the sake of my country and my people. But then... one day... my retainers all... said I wasn't needed anymore... My uncle... said that he would be king in my place... I...was fine with that... but because I had so much power everyone was afraid of me, they thought I was dangerous... They couldn't kill me... so they decided to seal me here instead... That's why..." She spoke haltingly but desperately, her parched throat making speech difficult.

"So does that mean you were some kind of royalty?"

She nodded furiously at his words. Were you amazed? Then, help me! That kind of thought flashed through her mind.

"What do you mean they couldn't kill you?" He asked another question. She was feeling impatient, but she held back. She couldn't make her benefactor change his mind because of a mistake.

After contemplating for a moment, she spoke.

"...I heal automatically. No matter what kind of injury it is, it'll just heal by itself. Even if you cut my head off I'll regenerate eventually."

"Th-That's quite the ability... So that's the power everyone was afraid of?" There was a stutter in his voice. Did he think her as a monster too? Truthfully, she was hurt by it. But her expression remained unchanged.

"That too, but... the main thing was that I could control «Mana»... directly, without a magic circle."

The boy nodded and replied with a simple, "I see."

"...Please, save me..." She begged softly as she watched the boy sink deep into thought.

"Hmm..." He stared unblinkingly at her. She stared right back. They spent what felt like an eternity gazing into each other's eyes. He got closer to the girl.

Her eyes widened as her expectation rose. Her lower lip trembled, his face inching closer, his hand reaching up to her face. Softly parting her hair with his fingers with a gentleness his whole body language had not even hinted at. His hand moved to the top of her head and gave her light pat.

The girl was dumbfounded. But, his hand left her head. A tinge of regret in her eyes, her facial muscles unchanged, still unused to forming expressions. Hard, like porcelain, from decades, centuries of disuse.

The boy sighed. His palm touched the stone. Cold seeping through the fingerless glove. Then, he pushed his «Mana» into the cube, trying to transmute it.

«Mana» practically poured out of him, squeezing through the palm of his hand, before being lost within the stone. The dark red sparks grew in intensity, however, the cube he was trying to transmute remained unchanged. Nevertheless, unlike those, it wasn't as if his magic was being completely nullified. Little by little, his power began seeping into the cube.

She was speechless at the spectacle. he didn't see any magic circle or heard incantation. The boy was just like her. He could control «Mana» directly.

He was like her!

Something stirred in her. She didn't know what it was. Was it admiration? She wasn't sure. However, her interest in the boy increased.

At that moment, she recalled what her master who was also her friend and confidante told her. She needed a partner in the future to give her kingdom an heir. However, she couldn't randomly choose a partner. Her partner should at least just as special as her.

After hundred years of being sealed, she finally met a person who met her criteria. She felt their meeting in this abyss was a fated meeting.

Her interest became a fixation. Almost at the unhealthy level. But, she didn't care what others might think. She didn't know she would meet another person like him anymore.

"Guh, this thing's tough... but I'm not so weak anymore!" His voice dragged her mind back to the present. He poured yet more «Mana». The intensity was insane. Even her reserve was small compared to his seemingly bottomless reserve.

"I'm not done yet!" He pushed even harder, pouring the absurd amount of «Mana» into the stone. At that point, he had burned enough «Mana» to cast some of the most advanced spells in existence and still have some left over. It was when she decided with firm decision that she would make this boy hers.

Their meeting was truly a fated meeting. They were created for each other. They were destined to be together.

Thus, she stared at him fixedly as his «Mana» grew brighter and brighter, determined not to miss a single moment.

Cold sweat poured down his back as he kept going. Yet, he kept going. Finally, the portion of the cube entrapping the girl began to melt like hot butter and dribbled to the ground, slowly releasing her from her stone prison. But, it wasn't enough.

Suddenly, he called someone.

"Kaori! Could you get here and help me?"

She gazed in the boy's direction quizzically. A second later, she turned her eyes in other direction as she heard a hurried sound of a footstep. When she saw a white-haired girl with such seductive figure, her red eyes narrowed. An alarm rang in her mind when she saw the white-haired girl's red eyes gazing fixedly at her partner. She realized that the white-haired girl had a feeling for the boy.

She became apprehensive, but she wouldn't back down from the challenge. She would keep going forwards and destroy anything on her way.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw the white-haired girl, Kaori, then widened when she didn't see a magic circle or hear incantation from the girl as she manipulated her «Mana». What kind of joke is this? Why many people with the ability similar to her appeared. Who the heck were they?

The boy's crimson «Mana» rampaged like nobody's business, brute forcing the cube like raging beast with energy to spare. As the rock slowly fell away, her modest breasts were fully visible. Next came her waist, then her hands, her thighs, and finally the cube melted away entirely and she was free. Her completely naked body was clearly emaciated, but it still had an alluring charm to it. She slumped to the ground in an exhausted heap as soon as her body was fully free.

She was finally free, but her body was weak from centuries of disuse.

The boy sat down in front of her. He was panting heavily. Even though he got his lady friend's support.

She realized her hand moved, unconsciously. She put her hand over his and grabbed it. Her small, slender, and frail hand trembled as it entwined with his own. He gave her a sidelong glance and realized she was looking right at him.

When she realized her current situation, feelings rampaged in her mind. She felt that she needed to say something to show her gratitude, but she didn't know what she should say.

In a small and trembling, but powerful voice, she conveyed her feelings.

"Thank you." She hoped it was enough...

He sat there quietly, his hand on hers.

"...What's your name?" she whispered to him. She had the suspicion of her savior and prospective mate's name, but she wanted to hear it from his own mouth. She saw that his smile grew awkward as he realized they hadn't told each other their names yet. He replied quickly, without a hint of hesitation in his tone.

"Hajime. Hajime Nagumo. What's yours?"

So, his name was Hajime. She engraved that name in her heart deeply, so she wouldn't forget it. She then felt complicated feelings when she thought about her name.

Her old name was Aleytia, the Queen of Vampire. But that name also held much bitter memory. She wanted to start anew, with him. So, she decided to ask him to grant her a new name.

A new name for her new life...

"...Give me one."

"Huh? You want me to name you? Don't tell me you forgot your actual one?"

When she saw his confusion, she explained her reason for wanting a new name.

"I don't need a name from the past... I'm fine with whatever name you give me, Hajime."

"...Haah, It's not so easy to just think up a name..."

She looked expectantly up at Hajime. Hajime scratched his cheek as he thought, but a voice suddenly broke the peaceful atmosphere between them.

"Excuse me…I hope you didn't forget I'm also here, Hajime."

"Ah…" She stared in Kaori's direction. Her gaze to Kaori was flat, cold and devoid of any emotions. Her gaze was as if saying "Who is this nuisance?"

As the matter of fact, it was what she asked herself

"Ah, eh, of course, not, Kaori. Anyway, this is Kaori, Kaori this is, er—" Hajime tried to introduce Kaori to her, but she was busy glaring at the "nuisance". She tried to intimidate Kaori with her glare, but Kaori's red eyes glared back with similar intensity.

She realized that this girl, Kaori, was a tough opponent.

It was the beginning of their endless rivalry for the first position in the future. But, she was confident she would win the war! She had special knowledge her master had taught to her when she was still a Queen after all.

— **»O«—**

"Anyway, a name isn't it? What do you think of Yue? I'm not really good at the whole naming thing, so I can try thinking up a different one if you don't like it."

When Hajime realized the tension between the two, Hajime forcefully diverted their attention from each other. He didn't have patience if it was developed into carnage between the two girls. He found the cat-fight between the two wouldn't be amusing like in the harem-genre Anime or Manga he'd watched in past.

Furthermore, these girls weren't a helpless wallflower. He knew how dangerous Kaori could be after her "demonification" and if his suspicion is correct the Vampire Queen before them was equally dangerous or more.

"Yue...? Yue...Yue..."

"Yeah. Where I and my companions come from, it means 'moon.' When I first came into this room your golden hair and red eyes reminded me of the moon, so I just... Well, what do you think?"

The former Vampire Queen blinked in surprise at his words. It seemed she hadn't expected him to have a reason behind picking the name, and though her face remained as expressionless as always, her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"...Hmm. Then from today onwards, I will be Yue, the name Hajime bestowed for me. Thank you." Hajime smiled when he heard the now named Yue thanked him. When he tried to reply her gratitude out of courtesy, he was stopped by a sound from behind his back.

"Tch—" Apparently, Kaori didn't find the heartwarming scene amusing. She grabbed his shoulder then pulled him, separating him and Yue. Then she hugged Hajime from behind possessively, Hajime felt something soft on his back at that, and pulled him back, trying to take him away from Yue.

Yue who was forced to release Hajime's hand glared at Kaori. She alternated her sight on them. She stared at Hajime with the mix of curiosity and apprehension.

"Hajime… Is this nu—woman your lover?"

"Yes…"

"No—ugh! I meant not yet!"

Kaori replied bluntly and crushed Hajime in her hug when she heard Hajime's answer. Hajime's answer was the truth, but it didn't mean Kaori liked it. Hajime hadn't answered her confession properly yet, and suddenly a blond-haired girl popped out of nowhere and tried to take her position as Hajime's first girl.

Kaori knew Shizuku's feeling for Hajime but she let it slide, even let Shizuku had a romantic relationship with Hajime because Shizuku was her best friend and sister in anything but blood. However, the main reason she didn't have a problem with Shizuku was that her best friend wouldn't mind being number two after Kaori.

Yue was different. Kaori was aware of that. She realized it from the way Yue gazed at Hajime. She felt her territory was invaded by the blond-haired Vampire, and she didn't like it whatsoever.

"Not yet? I see…" When she saw that, Yue narrowed her eyes. She made a thoughtful expression for a moment, before nodding her face with determined glints in her red eyes. She turned her eyes in Kaori's direction, challenging the Demonic Priestess with her glare. Kaori answered Yue's challenge with mad gaze and fearless smile.

 _As I thought, this seems to be a mistake._ Trapped between dragon and tiger, Hajime lamented silently. He could feel amazing fighting intent from the girls at his front and back respectively. Being trapped by such strong fighting intent would make anyone uncomfortable and jumpy. _I need to defuse this tension before they explode!_ It was then Hajime realized Yue's state. He released himself from Kaori, earning a confused gaze from the girls. He undid his cloak then gave it to the butt naked Yue.

"Here, wear this. Can't have you running around naked forever."

"Oh..." Yue reflexively took the cloak offered to her and looked down at her own body. As Hajime had said, she was stark naked. Every bit of her was completely exposed. She blushed and pressed the cloak against her body before looking up at Hajime and saying, "Hajime, you pervert."

"Uh..." He realized anything he said would only make things worse, so he wisely chose to remain silent. Furthermore, he felt cold gaze from his back, it was obvious whom it had!

"Hajime…" he turned his head around, answering Kaori's call "If you want to see girl's naked body, I won't mind showing mine." Kaori gave him her puppy eyes.

Hajime gulped instinctively. Instead of cute, Kaori looked sexy because of her transformed body. She wasn't the high school girl anymore. As the matter of fact, she had the form of the matured woman.

"Hajime…" Hajime turned his eyes back to Yue. He saw her hold the cloak in her hands and stare at him imploringly "...Help me wear this, please. I can't."

Hajime opened his mouth to reject the request, but he closed his mouth thereafter. The imploring gaze that Yue sent to him hit his weak spot. He felt he was trapped between a hard place and a rock.

Damned he did, damned he didn't. He felt it was a nostalgic feeling that he thought he had experienced so many time back in Japan because of Kaori's stubbornness in getting closer to him.

Sighing heavily, Hajime decided to accept Yue's request; he helped her to wear his cloak.

Yue happily let Hajime putting on the cloak he gave her. As she was a mere 140 centimeters tall, it was a bit too big for her. Hajime smiled as he watched her try and fold the right sleeve back enough for her hands to poke through. While she was wrestling with his cloak, he waited until his «Mana» returned slowly. He tried his best to ignore the murderous gaze directed to Yue from behind his back since Yue didn't mind it whatsoever.

"Look out!"

Their shenanigans were cut short by Shizuku's flustered shout. They looked up and saw the swordswoman was appearing above them, blocking the sharp pincers of a massive scorpion that dropped down from the ceiling. Hajime and Kaori didn't feel the scorpion's presence before, and it almost cost them their lives, if not for Shizuku's timely interference.

Hajime quickly got to his feet, scooped up Yue with one arm in a reflex, and used «Supersonic Step» to appear beside Kaori, who had jumped back, as fast as possible. He looked back just in time to see the monster crash into the ground right where they'd been sitting a second ago. At the same time, Shizuku appeared next to Hajime, and Kaori used «Heaven Interruption». Five layers of light barrier appeared around them, separating their group and the scorpion.

The monster was nearly five meters long and possessed four arms that all ended in razor-sharp scissors. It had a further eight legs that clacked noisily as it scuttled around. It also had two tails, each of which ended in stingers. The closest thing it resembled was a scorpion. Hajime and Co. assumed the two stingers contained poison. It was clearly far more powerful than the monsters they had faced so far.

Cold sweat began running down Hajime and Kaori's forehead. Their initial «Sense Presences» when they first entered the room hadn't discovered anything, which meant that the scorpion thing must have entered the room after Hajime had released Yue from her seal.

In other words, this was the one last trap her captors had placed to keep her from escaping her cell. If it was a trap designed for Yue, Hajime could escape if he left her behind.

If it wasn't because of Shizuku, the Scorpion would succeed in ambushing them. However, Shizuku's interference saved them, but the doors were closed tightly, and they didn't know how to leave this place.

"That's close!" Shizuku turned her head back and gave Hajime and Kaori a small relieved smile.

"Thanks, Shizuku!" Hajime spared a quick glance at the girl he held in his arms. Like him, Kaori and Shizuku also focused their accusing glare to her, blaming her for their unforeseen predicament.

"Maybe, miss former Vampire Queen can explain what happened? Or perhaps, she wanted us to get attacked by this massive bug in the first place?" There was thinly veiled accusation and venom in Kaori's voice.

She then stared at Yue suspiciously, a gaze that Shizuku and Hajime shared as they looked at the former Vampire Queen in Hajime's arm.

"...I forget about that monster." Yue was ignoring the scorpion thing and the other girls' glares entirely and looking only at Hajime. Her eyes were a sea of calm, showing nothing but the resolve to accept her fate. They spoke volumes more than words ever could. Yue had decided to place her life in Hajime's hands.

When he saw those eyes, Hajime's lips naturally curled up into his usual fearless grin.

Though he had told himself he would never care about other people again, he had ended up sympathizing with Yue anyway. And despite the terrible betrayal she had suffered, she chose once more to place her trust in someone. If he didn't help her, then he didn't deserve to be called a man.

"Bring it, you bastard. Kill me if you think you can." Hajime put down Yue next to Kaori and asked the healer of their team to heal Yue.

"Good grief, Hajime is top kind for his own good sometimes." Kaori sent a fed up expression to Hajime, who gave a sheepish look at the Demonic Healer.

"Well, he won't be Hajime, right, Kaori?" Shizuku chimed in. Her eyes never left the monster scorpion form. Said monster was sending countless sharp cone-shaped projectiles that looked like made of earth from its back.

When Hajime tried to leave Yue behind in Kaori's care, he was stopped. He turned back and saw Yue's hands holding his.

"...Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you run?" Yue's words implied that Hajime should already have realized he could leave her and escape by himself. He looked at her, evidently dumbfounded.

"Don't be ridiculous. I haven't fallen so low that I'd leave you behind to die just 'cause the enemy we ran into's a little stronger than usual."

In order to survive, Hajime and his girls would use anything at his disposal, whether it was ambushes, tricks, traps, lies, bluffs, and all sorts of other cowardly tactics. Aside from the one-on-one fight Hajime had with the Claw Bear, he honestly thought fighting head-on was just moronic. Hell wasn't so nice a place that you could survive with a code of honor. Nor did he feel guilty about his chosen fighting style. That was just how much he'd transformed over the course of his time here.

Still, he hadn't sunk so far that he'd abandon someone. Even now, after all this time, he still had some semblance of morality. No, rather it was more accurate to say that he never lost the last piece of what made Nagumo Hajime, Nagumo Hajime, because of Kaori and Shizuku's presence. And the one who had reinforced that, of who he really was, was none other than Yue.

Hence why abandoning her was not an option. When she had given him that look, a look that told him she had placed her life in his hands, he had made his decision. At the critical turning point that decided whether or not he became as terrible as the monsters he consumed, he had chosen to remain human.

Yue saw in his expression the words he didn't say and nodded in understanding before suddenly hugging him.

"Eep!"

"W-what are you doing? Unhand Hajime quickly!"

"H-Huh? What's up?"

Shizuku, Kaori, and Hajime reacted differently, confused. Considering the circumstances, Yue's actions seemed oddly timed. The effects of Yue's sudden actions surprised them.

Yet in spite of all that, Yue wrapped a hand around Hajime's neck.

"Hajime... trust me." As she said that, Yue kissed his lips.

"Wha—!?" No, not kissed. Bit.

Witnessing that, Kaori's concentration slipped and four of her barriers shattered by the continuous barrage of the sharp cones from the Scorpion. She made an odd, strangled voice. Murderous intent and impressive fighting intent spiked up from the formerly gentle girl. Shizuku panicked and reminded Kaori by a loud shout, "KAORI! THE BARRIERS!"

As Kaori and Shizuku were busy with their overreaction from Yue's actions, Hajime was stood frozen on his spot.

Hajime felt a tiny pinprick of pain as her fangs punctured his tongue. Following that, it felt as if the energy was being sucked out of his body. He was about to shake her off when he remembered Yue had said she was a vampire and realized she must have been sucking his blood.

When she had said "trust in me" she meant she wanted him to put aside his initial fear and revulsion at having his blood sucked.

In the span of a few moments, her emaciated body had become healthy, and her porcelain-white skin glowed with new vitality. Her cheeks, once gaunt, were now a rosy pink. A warm, gentle light dwelled within her crimson eyes, and she caressed Hajime's cheek with a slender hand.

Hajime trembled slightly, before recalling the vampire's words. She had asked him to trust her, and so he did, despite the warning bells in his head, and he began embracing her. She began hugging him back as if never wanting to let go. Hajime felt something leaving his body. Something more than just blood. «Mana» and life force began converging at his tongue, before being sucked out by Yue's gentle nibbling. A strange sense of exhilaration took hold of him, even though he should feel terrified.

Her face was flushed as she licked the last few drops of blood from her lips. Despite how young she appeared, the gesture, combined with her flushed face, looked rather seductive.

"...Thanks for the meal." Suddenly, Yue stood up, radiating a regal presence. The frail, emaciated girl from before appeared to be an illusion; her hair and skin were exuding a certain shimmer. She looked full of vigor. Her eyes glowed red and her round pupil elongated into the predatory slit. Small, cute fangs poked out through her lips, pointing downwards. Her ears seemed became pointed in the tip.

Hajime stumbled to his knees, before falling on his behind, staring at the graceful figure before him.

A gentle breeze, then a stronger wind, seemed to originate from her, blowing dust, pebbles and even pieces of Scorpion's shell away. With her borrowed fur-cloak billowing, her body began to rise, suspended a few centimeters above the floor. Golden colored «Mana» lashed around her. Her right arm was raised gracefully from beneath her cloak, her palm facing towards the rampaging beast. Cold vapor starting escaping her mouth with every breath she took.

Scorpion stopped. Something screamed from deep within, telling it that all was lost. Try to escape. Hide beneath a rock and hope to die. Any attempt would be futile. Kaori and Shizuku stared at Yue in disbelief. Her «Mana» output was truly a chill-inducing spectacle to behold.

"Absolute... Zero..." A tone colder than glaciers echoed in the room. The corner of Yue's lips curled up into a demented grin, showing her menacing fangs. Her red eyes dilated, staring ahead with a faraway look. She didn't gaze at the Scorpion, her current enemy. What she gazed was something others couldn't see.

An attentive observer might have noticed the small ice crystals forming in the center of the demonic beast, could have seen the frost spreading at the speed of lightning. 'Scorpion' had finally stopped moving. It stood there, frozen from inside. The rapid drop in temperature was noticeable in the surroundings. The sudden drop in pressure drew in the surrounding air, a sudden wind speeding past Hajime, Kaori, and Shizuku, lifting upwards as it reached the sudden frozen Monster.

Yue had returned to the ground gently, she did a quick pirouette before halting, stopped facing Hajime. She stumbled a little, getting dizzy from spinning too quickly. Her breathing was also faintly labored. She was obviously winded. Her face was still as expressionless as before, except for a slight rise at the corners of her lips. That and the joyful light in her eyes, indicating that she was clearly pleased with what she had done.

Hajime was reminded of the premonition he had as he stood before the sealed doors. 'Ominous'. And the second, standing before the Giants; 'Pandora's Box'. He was beginning to understand why someone might want to keep her sealed. Having a few screws loose was like the main reason she was sealed, or perhaps her long tortuous solitude in this place had turned her like that.

Whatever it was, he had got a new member for his survival group, a former Vampire Queen with questionable sanity at best.


	6. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 06

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — PART 06**_

— **»O«—**

"Ahh...ugh!" Hajime felt something is strange when Yue suddenly dropped down the floor and made that painful sound. The former Vampire Queen had stopped moving after crumbling down the floor. At first, he thought it was because she was feeling tired. He immediately got close and asked Yue what happened to her.

"Hey! Are you fine? What happened?" Hajime shook her small shoulder and got a painful grunt from the vampire as the answer. He flipped her body carefully and his pupils shrunk when he saw the change in Yue's body. A pulsating red vein-like tattoo was spreading from her stomach, crawling on her smooth, pale skin. It seems that Yue also "demonized" like him and his girls. Morbidly, Hajime watched the transformation. He didn't know about that because he couldn't watch himself when he was transformed, and his girls had transformed when he wasn't with them.

The scene caught Kaori and Shizuku's attention. They got close immediately and watched the transformation closely.

"Is she transforming like us? But, isn't a vampire is supposedly a demon in the first place?" Shizuku gave Hajime side glance through her pure white bangs; her red eyes shone with a curious glint. Kaori watched silently, but her red eyes watched Yue's writhing form with a look that's likely saying "Serve you good, you bitch!"

It was a look that the old, gentle Kaori wouldn't ever make even to her hated enemy. It told her companions how much she had changed. She also held a grudge towards the vampire because she had taken Hajime's first kiss. Kaori knew that the kiss she had with Hajime when she helped him drinking «Ambrosia» couldn't be counted on for obvious reason.

Hajime shook his head, clearly confused. He wasn't sure what happened to Yue. It was clear that she was changing, just like them. However, it gave them more questions they don't know the answer of. A vampire was classified as the demon and they didn't have a problem with eating Demonic Beast like the human. As the matter of fact, Demonic Beast was the Demonfolk main nourishment because of the mana within. The Yue's transformation was certainly unprecedented.

"Honestly, I don't know." Hajime shook his head helplessly. He continued watching the process until the end. He felt pity for Yue because he knew how painful the transformation was. Furthermore, Yue didn't seem in good condition from her long sealing, though, he didn't feel worried deeply because her Automatic Regeneration would keep her alive.

Finally, the transformation finished. The red vein-like tattoo was covering Yue's skin, except her face. Her golden hair became paler, giving the shade of color closer to her namesake. Her body slumped like a marionette which the string had been cut and her eyelids closed, covering her unfocused red eyes.

"Well, that's it." Hajime looked in the darkness. Since they were trapped in the room, they needed to know how to leave the room. His «Sense Presence» didn't feel other threat after the Twin-tailed Scorpion; it was the last safety measure to keep Yue in this place. They were safe, for now. "Let's take a break here until Yue's awoke."

Kaori nodded her head, agreeing with his decision easily. Meanwhile, Shizuku stood up and took a «Glowstone» from her makeshift satchel from the Twin-tailed Wolves fur.

"I'm going to look around. Maybe, there is something interesting in this place." Shizuku spoke before walking around with the help of the light provided by the stone.

Left by Shizuku, Hajime and Kaori stayed next to the unconscious Yue. For Hajime, he wanted to wait until Yue woke up. Yue had become one of his companions. Though he didn't fully trust her yet, she had shown that she trusted him by leaving her fate in his hand earlier. He would give the vampire a benefit of doubt. On the other hand, Kaori stayed next to Yue because of Hajime. The healer wouldn't mind if the vampire disappear. As the matter of fact, she felt she was threatened by Yue, not her life but her position as Hajime's first woman.

While they were staying silently, Hajime stared at Yue's unconscious form with a thoughtful expression. An idea flashed through his mind, but he wasn't sure about it.

"Hajime, what are you thinking?" Kaori's question snapped Hajime from his train of thoughts. He turned his eyes to Kaori and said what was in his mind.

"I'm wondering if I can get Yue's «Automatic Regeneration» if I eat her body part. If Shizuku and I can get that skill, maybe, our missing limbs can return. What do you think?"

"That is…" Kaori showed a pondering expression. They had eaten all strong monsters they met and killed so far. In theory, they could gain something from eating Yue. However, the probability wasn't 100%. There was also the problem with Yue's humanoid form. It was true that Yue was a demon, but she was still a humanoid monster that looks like a normal human. Kaori might dislike Yue because of her audacity for laying her claim on Hajime. _But, eating her body part was the different matter altogether_. Their moral might have been twisted in the abyss, but not everything was shattered and mended haphazardly.

The idea of eating Yue was disturbing to say at least.

Kaori contemplated her answer silently for a moment before she spoke what was in her mind. "I think, it is a good idea. Even though I have confidence in my healing magic, and there is the «Ambrosia», it can't regenerate a missing limb."

"You think so too, huh?" Hajime nodded his head with a pondering expression. He then stared at Yue's peaceful sleeping expression as he weighed his options.

After a moment, he hesitantly grabbed Yue's left hand and cut her index finger with «Gale Claw». Yue flinched in her sleep, but it didn't wake her up. With a grimace, Hajime stared at Yue's finger. He shifted his line of sight to Yue's left hand and saw the stump writhed as her severed finger regenerated.

He could see clearly how bone, tissues, and skin regenerated back in slow yet still visible on the eyes speed. He shook his head and tried to eat the finger, but he was surprised when Kaori took it away from his hand.

"Wha—" Hajime couldn't finish his word once he saw Kaori bit the finger with a grimace. Hajime's grimace deepened when he saw the disturbing sight of Kaori cannibalizing Yue's body part. The formerly gentle and civilized airhead ate the finger cleanly, leaving only the bone behind.

Kaori showed a pained expression after a moment. Hajime panicked at that, but the pain Kaori felt was only for a few seconds. After the pain disappeared, Kaori checked her «Status-Plate» and showed the upgraded information to Hajime.

 **Shirasaki Kaori**

 **Age: 17**

 **Gender: Female**

 **Level: 35**

 **Strength: 730**

 **Vitality: 910**

 **Defense: 730**

 **Agility: 820**

 **Magic: 1790**

 **Magic Defense: 1790**

 **Skills: Healing Magic [+Blessing] [+Miracle] [+Ten Thousand Heavens] [+Increase Effectiveness] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Range] [+Increase in Magic Power Efficiency] [+Continuous Activation] — All Elements Aptitude — Barrier Magic [+Light Severance] [+Holy Severance] [+Heaven Interruption] — High Speed Magic Power Recovery — Restrain — Examine — Focus — Infiltrate — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Bolt — Gale Claw — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] — Curse [+Petrifying Gaze] [+Poison Fog] [+Paralyzing Powder] — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Language Comprehension — Compound Magic — Diamond Skin — Automatic Regeneration**

Besides, the level up and sharp increase in statistics, Kaori did gain Yue's «Automatic Regeneration». After storing the «Status-Plate» back into her makeshift satchel, Kaori cut her left pinky finger without warning. Hajime was caught off guard by Kaori's sudden actions. Before he freaked out, however, the stump regenerated back. Both Hajime and Kaori released relieved sighs.

"It seems that my hypothesis is correct." Hajime picked Kaori's finger and hesitantly ate it. He grimaced when he realized the taste was no different than the Demonic Beast's meat they ate so far. A small part of him wondered if Kaori's meat would taste better, though, it was a disturbing thought.

Hajime felt pain in his stomach for a moment as he digested Kaori's meat. He missed the dazed eyes and heavy blush on Kaori's eyes when he ate her. After the aching pain, not painful enough to warrant «Ambrosia», disappeared, he felt itching sensation from his stump. He realized that his stump had a problem for regenerating because the wound had closed. Hajime soon cut the stump, opening a fresh wound for his new «Automatic Regeneration» could take effect. It was painful but he held back the pain. Then, his missing limb slowly regenerated back.

At that time, Shizuku returned from her patrol and saw the scene of Hajime's regenerating arm. Kaori cut her pinky finger once again and let Shizuku ate it. A moment later, Shizuku's missing limbs regenerated slowly and she cried in joy.

"Speaking of which, I found this magic circle behind Yue-san's former jail." After her limbs regenerated, Shizuku remembered her finding and informed Hajime and Kaori. They stared at each other in the eyes before asking Shizuku to take them to where she found the magic circle.

— **»O«—**

Hajime checked the magic circle carefully. He was hesitating for a moment before steeling himself and poring small amount of his «Mana» to get a reaction from it. The magic circle shone with mysterious light. Surprisingly, nothing bad happened. There was no extra trap or a super monster like the Scorpion appeared, a part of the stone floor opened instead. From the small hole, a small pillar-like pedestal rose. On top of the pedestal was a smooth orb. Then, the orb shone and projected the image of a handsome man with red eyes.

Hajime and his girls watched the image projection carefully. The image started to move and the person slowly began to talk.

[...Aleytia. Long time no see I wonder if saying that is a little wrong. I think that you surely hate me. No, surely word like hate will not be enough at all. What I did… ah, that's not it. This is not what I want to say. Even though I have been thinking of various things, now that the time has come to leave my last will I cannot speak smoothly.] While making a self-depreciating wry smile, the man pulled himself together by clearing his throat. Hajime shared silent glances with Kaori and Shizuku. They didn't voice their doubt, but they had suspicion to who this video-like projection was recorded for.

They also realized the former Vampire Queen's real name was Aleytia, but they didn't make any comment. They continued to watch the video-like projection.

[That's right. First, let me say my thanks. ...Aleytia. Surely, right now on your side, there should be someone who you are trusting from the bottom of your heart. At the very least, that person must be a strong person who could obtain «Metamorphosis Magic» and able to challenge the "true" Orcus Great Labyrinth, a person who didn't abandon you from the Guardian that I prepared and rescued you.] Hajime and his girls' eyes were widened at that.

[...You. You there who is close to my beloved niece. I wonder if you are male, or are you female? For Aleytia, what kind of existence are you? Are you her lover? Are you her friend? Or do you become her family or her comrade? I apologize that I cannot meet you directly to say my thanks, but I still want to say it no matter what. ...Thank you. For saving this child, for being close to her, thank you. I offer you my greatest gratitude in my whole lifetime. Aleytia. Surely many questions are flooding inside your chest. Or else, perhaps you already know the truth. Just why, that day, I hurt you, and buried you inside that bottom of darkness? What kind of existence are you, and who is your true enemy?]

Hajime focused his attention on the video-like projection. The words "true enemy" stirred something in his chest and he didn't want to miss anything. He was also curious what the meaning by Yue's existence. He had feelings that Yue's someone beyond normal, but it seems Yue's existence will be explained by this man.

Hajime and others listened to the truth of Yue's existence as «Demigod», a special existence who was blessed by God, and she was aimed by Ehitorujue, to be his new body since her body was very special—a body that close to the divinity. The man in the projection, whose name was Denreed Gardia Wesperitirio Avatar, Yue's uncle, explained how he noticed that and pretended to kill Yue in his coup d'etat with the disguise that he was blinded by greed, he then sealed her in the abyss, the room where she was sealed itself was a hidden place that could fool even the god. The sealing of Yue was also a bitter choice for him so that her presence couldn't be possibly detected even for a bit.

[I was hesitating whether to tell you the truth or not until just before that day. But, for the sake of deceiving that guy, the fake god, with certainty, I judged that I shouldn't tell you. I also thought that if you hate me, then that would be a motivation for you to live.] Surely Denreed also couldn't stay for long in the sealing room. That was why after pretending to kill Yue at the palace, there was no doubt that there was also no time for him to talk with her. Just how filled with bitterness that choice that he made, it was shown by the strength of his hand clutching at the other side of the image.

[Even so, it doesn't change that I had hurt you. I won't say anything like your forgiveness after this late. However, I want you to please believe only this. I want you to know this.] Denreed's expression changed from anguish, into an expression of smiling while crying. That look was overflowing with gentleness and kindness, at the same time it was also filled with hopelessness and sadness. [I love you, Aleytia. I love you from the bottom of my heart. I have never thought of you as bothersome, not even for once. ―I thought of you as my daughter. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything but to entrust you to someone in the future. I'm sorry that I act like a pathetic father.] Something shining was gathering at the corner of Denreed's eyes. But, he didn't let that flow by any means. While enduring tightly, he spun words toward his beloved daughter with all his heart.

[I wanted to be at your side, seeing your figure when you grasped your own happiness someday. It was my secret dream to punch the man standing at your side once. And then, after that, I wanted to exchange sake with him, and say "please take care of my daughter". It was the partner that Aleytia chose. Surely, he would make a firm promise with a serious face.]

Denreed was looking at far away as though seeing a dream on the other side of the image. By any chance, there might be the Yue of the past at the direction of his gaze.

[It will be the time soon. There are more things that I want to talk, various things that I want to convey but...with my «Creation Magic», I can only make an artifact of this degree.] Denreed smiled wryly at the approaching limit of the recording, to that Yue reached her hand while crying.

[I cannot be on your side anymore, but even if this life is about to run out I'll continue to pray. Aleytia, my beloved daughter, I wish for infinite happiness to shower above your head...for you to walk a path that is warmer than sunlight and gentler than moonlight.] Denreed's gaze wandered. Surely that was because he was imagining the person who was being close with Yue.

[To you who are very close with my beloved daughter. It doesn't matter what kind of shape it is. Make that child, to be the happiest girl in the world. Please, I beg you.]

Hajime stared blankly at Denreed's pleading expression. Something stirred in his chest. He remembered his decision when he saw Yue's gaze when the Scorpion appeared, a resigned gaze where she let her fate in his hand.

The recording was fading down. Denreed's figure melted into empty air. It was as though his soul was going away...

[...Goodbye, Aleytia. I wish that the whole world that is surrounding you, to be filled with happiness.]

When the image projection disappeared, tension engulfed the silent room. Hajime, Kaori, and Shizuku didn't make any sound because they couldn't express their feelings. The video-like projection showed them some disturbing things.

Shizuku moved first, turning her head around, and stared at Yue's unconscious body. Her red eyes showed pity.

"What a pitiful child."

"Honestly, this thing makes me feel complicated within." Kaori made an expression that showed her inner feelings. She followed Shizuku's gaze and stared at Yue's unconscious form with a complicated expression. Originally, Kaori hated Yue's guts because her territory as Hajime's number one lover was invaded by the vampire, but she felt complex emotions she couldn't explain with a mere word when she saw the recording.

Hajime stared at empty space, pondering something deeply. He then blew a heavy sigh, taking Kaori and Shizuku's attention.

"What's it, Hajime?" Kaori gave him a concerned look.

"I just realized that our goal to return back to Japan will be wrought with many hardships." Hajime smiled bitterly as he stared at Kaori and Shizuku. "A god, huh? I knew that something is amiss when I listened to that Pope's explanation after we were summoned here. But, to think that the real threat comes from a being considered as a god... what a mess."

Kaori and Shizuku made a grim expression as they realized what made Hajime bothered. A God had unreasonably abducted them from their normal life and force them to fight in a war which wasn't related to them selfishly. Then, they experienced something that was too much for normal human being. It changed them into the current them. Furthermore, they found out the same God that kidnapped them here was actually a shady guy. It was truly a mess.

"What are we going to do?" Kaori inquired with a troubled expression. "Are we going to fight this god to return home?"

"No other choice than that." Hajime sighed heavily. What could they do? They realized it wouldn't be easy for them to fight a god. _Fighting a god to return back home, huh? It clichéd as it went, damn!_ Hajime mused bitterly in his heart.

"But, we can't do it alone. It won't be enough with only three of us. Four if we count Yue in." Shizuku put in her piece of mind. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Are we going to ask our classmates to fight this god too?"

Kaori made an unsure expression. She still harbored the grudge to their classmates because they were the reason why Hajime, the man she loved with her all, fell into the abyss. However, it was Hajime's expression that showed how unwilling he was to ask help from his so-called classmates. Unlike Kaori and Shizuku who were idolized and adored by their classmates, Hajime experienced nothing but grief because of them. He was bullied, insulted and beaten by them. It was only normal he held a grudge against them.

"Hajime?" Kaori called him carefully. She had seen Hajime's expression and she was worried for him.

"No. I won't ask them. I have cut any tie with them after I fell here." Hajime refused strongly.

"But..." Shizuku's words stopped in her throat when she saw Hajime's glare; she flinched from his baleful glare that looked so inhuman, full of hatred. It shocked Shizuku. Though she was changed, a part of her was still thinking about her friends. As someone who knew the subtlety of human interaction and was blessed with the sharp mind, she realized Hajime was bullied by their classmates. However, she didn't know how bad it was.

"No, Shizuku. No. Just remembering them almost makes me snap! Do you know it is the fault of our so-called classmates that I fell into the abyss?" Hajime retorted with a strong tone.

"I know it was because of a stray attack, an incident—" Shizuku tried to reason, but her words were cut by a harsh, throaty chuckle. It was only beginning. Hajime's chuckle slowly morphed into a hysterical, demented laugh. Chills traveled down her spine when she heard that laugh. She stared at Hajime warily.

On the other hand, Kaori stared at Hajime in the mix of worry and confusion.

"An incident?! Hahaha! You think it was an incident? Hehehe...Hahahaha... Then you're truly blind, Yaegashi." Hajime stopped his laugh abruptly and stared at Shizuku blankly, making the swordswoman flinch at his emotionless gaze and the way he changed his way of calling her.

"You have a sharp mind and you know how they treated me, right? Of course, you know how those guys treated me back in Japan." Shizuku turned her eyes to the floor. She couldn't meet Hajime's stare with her own.

Kaori alternated a confused gaze on Hajime and Shizuku. She didn't understand what Hajime spoke of. She was an airhead who didn't know how to read the atmosphere. Because of that, she didn't realize how bad Hajime was treated by her classmates.

"A filthy good-for-nothing Otaku they called me! They insulted and bullied me! Then, when we were summoned here and they got power, they kicked up the notch, so to speak. It wasn't name calling, insult or simple beating anymore. Do you know some of your classmates have done to me? They used me as their target practice! You hear it? They used me as a target practice for their magic for goodness sake! Hahahahahaha!" Hajime laughed hysterically like a madman while covering his face with his regenerated hand. His other hand hung limply beside his body, shaking because of his hysteria. However, he wasn't close to stopping his rant.

"Do you know how painful it was, being burned by a fireball or being hit with enhanced strength? I endured their treatment and could only smile bitterly because I could do nothing. But, that fireball that sent me down here was the reason behind my decision to sever all connection with them!" Shizuku opened her eyes wide as she listened to Hajime's rant. On the side, Kaori had a horrified expression and covered her mouth. They didn't know it was that far.

Hajime didn't seem to realize the girls' reaction as he was too engrossed in his pain and releasing everything buried deep in him. His vexed and tired mind from the revelation made his mouth became loose and he spoke out what he buried in his heart. He might be a kind boy and put aside the suffering in the hands of his classmates, but it didn't mean he would forgive and forget easily.

"And don't make me start with that moronic ally of justice wannabe you called childhood friend. Amanogawa, that little shit with a delusion of grandeur, knew what happened to me. He even saw it with his own eyes, and what he did? Heh, he just stood on the sideline and did nothing! When those bastards were satisfied with tormenting me, he would walk in and say something he believed without actions to back his flowery words! Hah! Ally of justice my ass! He is just a loud bark with no bite at all! That little shit had twisted mind and he would bitch around like little kid denied from his new toy when something didn't go as he expected! So no! I won't ask them. I've severed all connection with them. I will let them return back home when we find the way but I won't lend my help to them beyond that! They can die and root as I care!"

Hajime finally stopped his rant. His breath was rough and heavy. Sweats covered his forehead. Though he looked exhausted, he felt better because he had let everything out. He finally realized what he had done and raised his head, turning his eyes to Kaori and Shizuku.

Kaori had tears falling down her cheeks, but her red eyes were cold. Something dark and malevolent was lurking behind that eyes and Hajime felt glad that thing wasn't directed at him. On the other hand, Shizuku couldn't raise her head, staring at the floor silently. Her right hand was gripping her left elbow, trying to stop her shaking hand to no avail. Guilt could be seen from her body language.

When he saw that, he was actually feeling bad. But, he wouldn't take back his words because it was the truth. He took the artifact silently and left the girls alone with their thought. He then walked in Yue's direction.

When Hajime arrived next to Yue, he blinked his eyes in surprise. The vampire was awake and her red eyes were staring at him.

"You're awake huh? Since when?"

"Since Hajime laughed. I can't sleep peacefully because Hajime was too loud." Yue replied with a bland tone. However, Hajime could see the concern in her red eyes. She then realized that Hajime's missing arm had returned. "Your hand?"

"Ah, this." Hajime raised his left arm and waved it in front of him. "This came back because of Yue's power. The «Automatic Regeneration»."

"How?" When Hajime saw the confused glint in Yue's eyes, he elaborated.

"You see, those girls and I have the ability to take the power of other Demons as ours by eating their body part. I don't know how we get this power in the first place, but if my hypothesis is correct, then Yue also has this power since Yue has transformed like us. Let's back to the topic. We usually ate Demonic Beast and Yue is the first humanoid demon we ate. But, no need to worry we will turn Yue into our meal! Kaori only ate your finger while I ate Kaori's finger. It'll be the first and the last time."

"I don't mind if it was Hajime, but that girl huh..." Yue made a complicated face when she found out that Kaori had eaten her finger. She didn't mind if it was Hajime. Even though her finger had regenerated back, she felt unwilling when she realized the annoying nuisance, Kaori, was the one who ate her finger.

"Like I said, you need not worry." Hajime tried to put away Yue's fear of being turned into a meal, misunderstanding Yue's dilemma. "Besides, I have made a promise to myself that I will protect Yue once I saw your look after the appearance of that Scorpion."

"No. It's unfair if it's only Hajime. I will protect Hajime too..." Yue shook her head as she spoke.

"Alright." Hajime accepted Yue's decision and felt happy. He knew that Yue meant what she said since he saw the resolution in Yue's eyes. When he remembered the recording of Yue's uncle, he made a silent promise to himself that he would show it to Yue. He decided to tell Yue about it after they finished this Labyrinth. He had feeling something grand awaiting them in the end of this Labyrinth and, maybe, it would help them to return back to Japan.

Speaking of Japan, he had made a decision to bring Yue with him. She was alone and had no one. He had promised to Yue's uncle he would take care of Yue since she had put her faith in him.

After that, he checked the doors and found a single hollow hole below magic circle engraved on the double doors. He realized that he could unlock the door's locking mechanism by inserting the Scorpion's «Mana Crystal», just like how he and his girls unlocked the door from the outside. Soon, they left the room and decided to continue their venture in the Orcus Great Labyrinth with Yue as their new companions.

Speaking of the girls, Kaori and Shizuku had been silence after Hajime's rant. Both were weighed heavily by the revelation that was spoken by Hajime. Though Kaori felt sad for Hajime and murderous to her classmates and male childhood friend for their treatment to Hajime, it was nothing compared to the dilemma in Shizuku's heart.

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _Sixth chapter is finished and only three chapters left before this story progresses to the second Arc. As you can see, the knowledge from the recording and Hajime's outburst is the twist that will change the course of the plotline. In canon, small number of students died (I.e. Hayama and Eri) but in this story many students will die. TBH, I don't feel bad for killing some character. The recording will also lessen Kaori's hatred for Yue because her audacity in invading her territory, so to speak. But, they will fight and show some carnages in future. Let's be honest here, both of them aren't normal girl and wanting to be number one. Furthermore, their automatic regeneration will make them hard to die or just regenerate when they maimed each other later._

 _Other than that, Yue also gained «Iron Stomach». Unlike in canon, she will grow into OP too. And just a small spoiler, I'll kill Kouki later because let's be real, he is so unlikeable as a character, and I wish Hajime offed him in canon. I have a plan to make his death realistic and a reason for his death so Shizuku can't stop Hajime from killing the_ _little_ _bitch._

 _Anyway, I want to thank you, Jackie Avocado, PassiveNox, and Gabriel790 for the reviews. Anyway, Jackie, when you'll update your own Arifureta fic? I'm dying for the new chapter here!_

 _That aside, I hope you leave your review of this chapter._

 _That's it. See you in the next issue~ bye bye~_


	7. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 07

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — PART 07**_

— **»O«—**

After Hajime and his group left the room were Yue had been sealed with the harvested flesh from the defeated scorpion and cyclopes, they then carried it all back to their base. Transporting such a huge quantity of meat was no easy feat, but after giving Yue more of his blood to restore her energy, Hajime was able to enlist her help. Kaori and Shizuku also helped carrying the monster meat. With their combined strength, enhanced by Yue's body-empowering magic, they were able to transport the vast quantities of meat to their hideout.

Originally, Hajime had suggested using the room as a new base, but Yue had rejected the proposal. He supposed it was understandable. She was probably sick of staring at the walls of what had been her prison for centuries. Even if they were going to be stuck on this floor until Hajime replenished his stock of supplies, it was better for her mental health to have Yue out of that room. Thus, they were spending the time talking and getting to know each other better while they scavenged for supplies.

"So that means you have to be at least 300 years old, right Yue?" Hajime inquired to the vampire who was sitting at his left while Kaori took the spot on his right. The light magic user had started to talk again after they arrived in the hideout. Since Hajime was used by Kaori's clinginess and her blatant attempt in seduction, Hajime didn't seem to be bothered by Yue as an addition. Inwardly, he couldn't help but think that he was fortunate to experience "a flower in each hand" scenario.

"It's rude to ask a girl her age." Yue glared angrily at Hajime. It seemed even in parallel worlds asking a girl about her age was taboo.

"That is right. Hajime shouldn't ask a girl about their age! That's super rude even the one you asked is actually very old," Kaori nodded while giving Hajime a reprimanding gaze. She totally missed the murderous glare from the old vampire in the question.

Hajime sighed heavily and stared at the stone ceiling in resignation. Inwardly, his mind was somewhere else. From what he recalled, the vampires had been destroyed in a massive war that had enveloped the land 300 years ago. Chances were Yue had lost track of time, trapped in the silent darkness as she had been, but it stood to reason that she must have been at least that old. If she'd been sealed at the age of twenty or so, then she was most likely far older than even 300.

"Do all vampires live as long as you?" Hajime inquired after he returned back to his work, creating his new weapon.

"...No, I'm an exception. I don't age because of my regenerative powers."

According to Yue, she had stopped aging ever since she had awoken to her powers at her thirteen years old age. Average vampires could still extend their lifespan by drinking the blood of other races, but even then they couldn't live much longer than two hundred years or so. As a frame of reference, humans in this world lived an average of 70 years, while demons' lifespan was a bit longer at 120. Beastmen had varying lifespans, depending on the specific race. Elves, for example, could live for centuries.

The reason for Yue's exceptional powers was because she had inherited the blood of the ancient atavistic vampires, or so she believed. Her lineage had made her one of the strongest creatures in the world at the time, and she had ascended to the throne at the tender age of seventeen. Yue's «Demigod» status gave her with the «Automatic Regeneration» and «Direct Mana Manipulation». Better yet, she was nigh immortal. Only gods or devils could aspire to that level of strength. And it seemed Yue had been classified as one of the latter. It was ironic though, since she had a body worthy to house divine soul.

Yue believed that her uncle, blinded by his greed and ambition, had perpetrated the misconception among his fellow vampires that Yue was indeed a devil. He had then used that as justification to try and kill her, but had been stymied by her automatic regeneration. As a result, he had ended up sealing her here in this underground abyss instead. At the time, she had been too shocked by the sudden betrayal to resist capture. By the time she'd regained enough of her composure to understand what had just happened, she had already been sealed  
inside the rock cube.

From Yue's explanation, both Hajime and Kaori realized that Yue didn't know about her special existence as «Demigod» or the reason behind her uncle's betrayal. They shared a silent glance for a moment and decided to keep about that information from Yue until they found time to show the recording of Denreed. Which was why she had no idea how that scorpion had come to dwell there, how she'd been sealed, or even how they'd managed to bring her down here into the depths of hell.

Hajime had been a little disappointed when he'd heard that, as he'd hoped she might have known some way out. She discussed the specifics of her powers with him at length as well. Supposedly she had perfect affinity with every element. At one point Hajime and Kaori recalled saying "What the hell, you're totally overpowered..." and "I won't lose" to which Yue had replied by saying she wasn't very skilled at close quarters combat. The "best" she was capable of doing was using strengthening magic to increase her physical abilities to run around while firing off spells as fast as she could. Of course, her ability to ignore wounds thanks to her innate regeneration and the overwhelming might of her spells meant that was still enough to kill almost everything.

An interesting thing to note was the fact that she still said spell names out loud, despite having no need for chants of any kind. It seemed it had just become a habit since she had started learning that way. Even those with an affinity for magic usually had to say something related to the spell to keep a firm image of it in their minds, and it seemed even Yue was no exception.

Her automatic regeneration appeared to be a kind of special magic similar to what monsters had, and would naturally activate so long as she had mana remaining. It was also the reason why Hajime, Kaori and Shizuku could get the same skill from eating her body parts. Unless Yue was literally reduced to ashes in an instant, she could come back from any injury. But, looking at it from another angle, which meant that once her mana dried up she would no longer heal. Had she taken any damage in that fight with the scorpion, she would undoubtedly have died. Not like they, mostly Hajime, could leave Yue alone since the door was sealed in the first place. Of course, they could let Yue died in Scorpion attack and they killed the distracted Scorpion, but Hajime decided to help Yue in the end.

"Anyway... onto the most important question; Yue, do you have any idea where we are? Or better yet, any idea how to get back to the surface?" Hajime and Kaori realized that the Labyrinth was a kind of test from the recording they found. They hoped Yue knew something about it.

"Unfortunately, I don't. However..." It seemed Yue was unsure of their exact location too. Though her tone was apologetic, the way she trailed off implied that she knew something at least. "According to legend, this labyrinth was built by one of the Mavericks."

"The Mavericks?" Kaori frowned when she heard that. On top of being an unfamiliar word, it had a rather ominous ring to it. They just realized the god of this world, Ehitorujue, was their enemy and they didn't think they could afford other powerful enemies. Hajime and Kaori turned to face Yue fully. She met Hajime's eyes, totally ignoring Kaori's, before nodding sharply and continuing.

"They were rebels that tried to bring about the end of the world." With how reticent and expressionless Yue was, her explanations always took time. For his part, Hajime had a boatload of transmutation to get through, so he settled back to listen while he worked on replenishing his supply of ammunition. The Scorpion had also shown him just how lacking in strength he was, and he had started work on a new weapon to rectify his insufficient firepower.

Supposedly, there had been seven descendants who had colluded together to plot the destruction of the world. However, the gods put a stop to their plans and they were forced to flee to the ends of the earth. Their bastions of exile were what later came to be called the Seven Great Labyrinths. The Great Orcus Labyrinth being one of them, of course. The Maverick who created it was rumored to reside in the deepest depths of this abyss everyone else called hell.

"...It's possible there might be a path to the surface there, in the deepest part of the labyrinth..."

"I see. I can't imagine there being some huge, thousand story long staircase at the bottom. But if this whole thing was made by someone from the Age of the Gods, then there's probably a teleportation circle or something." Hajime smiled at this new possibility. He returned his gaze to the work at hand. Yue and Kaori followed suit. Their eyes were glued to Hajime's hands. Hajime had become used to Kaori, but Yue's interest to his work was surprising.

"...Is it really that interesting to watch me work?" At Hajime's question, Yue nodded silently. Hajime thought she looked extremely cute just then, sitting there while hugging her knees with her fingers barely poking out of the sleeve of his baggy overcoat. He was overcome by a burning desire to hug and cuddle her, as if she was an oversized hugging pillow.

 _Man, I can't believe a cute little girl like her is really 300 years old. Parallel worlds_ _really are something. They even have eternal lolis! A real legal Lolita!_ Even transformed, Hajime never forgot any of his otaku knowledge. As if reading his thoughts, Yue suddenly looked up.

"You just thought something really rude, didn't you, Hajime?"

"What do you mean?" He played dumb, internally sweating at how perceptive her woman's intuition was. He should have realized it after basically living together with other girls in this abyss. Silently, he returned to his work, clearly hoping to distract Yue's attention. He apparently succeeded, as she started bombarding him with questions about himself.

"...Hajime, and the others, what are you doing here?" That was the question he had most expected. This was, after all, the bottom of the abyss, the figurative pits of hell. A place no one but monsters called home. But that was just the first of many questions to come. How are you able to control mana directly? How can you use the special magic of monsters? How are you able to eat monster meat and not die? What happened to your left arm? Are you even human, Hajime? What's that weapon you used earlier?

After the first one it was as if a dam had burst, and Yue pelted Hajime with questions ceaselessly. He answered each question thoroughly, not at all annoyed by the storm of inquiries. It looked like Hajime had a bit of a soft spot for Yue. It was understandable after he vowed to Yue's late uncle that he would protect her.

Starting from the summoning, he retold the tale of how he wound up there. He told Yue about how they had been selected as heroes, and how he had been a worthless Synergist with no useful offensive skills, to the labyrinth excursion and his fight with the Behemoth, to his betrayal at the hands of one of his classmates, his descent into hell, how he met Kaori almost got killed by a pack of Twin-tailed wolves, how he lost his arm to Kickmaster Rabbit before the Claw Bear ate it, Kaori's discovery of the potion (Yue later explained to him that it was called «Ambrosia»), how they found Shizuku almost got eaten by a pack of Twin-tailed Wolves, how they started eating monsters, how his knowledge from his original world gave him the idea for his weapon, his rematch with the Claw Bear, and finally their descent through the dungeon until they reached her floor.

Hajime talked at length about everything he could remember while Kaori added in here and there. And, as his tale wound down, Hajime could hear Yue's sniffling.

"What's wrong?" Kaori asked. The concern was evident in her voice. It was surprising since Kaori supposedly hated Yue's guts. But, it seems that she wasn't fully lost yet. A gentle part of her was still in here, and Yue seemed to attract Kaori's maternal instinct. When Hajime and Kaori glanced back at Yue, they saw tears spilling from her eyes. Surprised, Kaori hurriedly wiped the tears from Yue's face and repeated her question. Hajime had stopped what he was doing because the surprise.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

" _Sniffle_... Hajime and Bakaori... you suffered so much... just like me..." Yue was crying for their sake. Hajime and Kaori were momentarily taken aback, before they smiled reassuringly at her, and Hajime patted Yue on the head. However, Kaori seemed to miss the insulting nickname Yue had for her.

"Don't worry about it. All that stuff's in the past now. There's no point in getting hung up over it. I don't even really care about my old classmates that much anymore, and I'm not all that interested in getting revenge. All I care about now is polishing my skills, so I can make it out of here alive and find a way to return home." Hajime smiled at Yue, trying to calm her.

Still sniffling, Yue closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having her head patted, fully ignoring Kaori's words and looking very much like a big cat. However, she suddenly jumped with a start when Hajime mentioned returning home.

"You're going to go back?"

"Hm? You mean to my own world? Of course I am. I miss it... A lot of things have changed now, but I still wanna go home..."

"I see." Yue looked down dejectedly then quietly whispered: "...I don't have a home to go back to... anymore..."

Hajime took his hand off Yue's head and awkwardly scratched the back of his own. He was by no means a dense person, which was why he had already vaguely realized Yue had started treating him as her new "home," so to speak. It was the same reason she had asked him to give her a name. She was worried she'd lose her home again if he returned to his original world.

 _Didn't you promise yourself that you will take care of her?_ Hajime mentally berated himself, but he still extended his hand to pat Yue's head once more.

"Well, how about coming with us, then?"

"Huh?" Her eyes went wide with surprise as she processed his words. She gazed deeply at him with her crimson eyes, wet with tears. Unsettled by the intensity in her gaze, he quickly began talking: "I mean, well, back with me to my world. It's a boring place with nothing but humans, and someone with powers as amazing as yours might not find it to your liking, but... well, I guess at this point my abilities are just as crazy. Anyway, I have no idea if you'll even like it or not... and it's only if you want to come, but, well, what do you say?"

"That's right! There are many interesting things in our world, you know. Do you know that Hajime's parent created many games and manga… er, a story with image, I mean." Kaori also added in hurry.

Yue blinked at them in confusion for a few seconds before timidly asking, "I can really come with you?" Though her voice was meek, her eyes were overflowing with hope. Hajime and Kaori stared at each other for a moment then smiled when they saw how vividly Yue's eyes were shining. They then nodded.

As they did so, Yue smiled so brightly it almost felt as if her expressionless mask until now had just been an act. For a few moments, they were completely captivated by her radiant smile. As the matter of fact, Kaori felt envious of how beautiful Yue was. She didn't realize that she had surpassed her old beauty after her transformation. It was when she also realized the threat of Yue possessed for her place as Hajime's first woman and she put her guard up towards Yue again. Kaori looked at Hajime and elbowed him, snapping him for his daze like an idiot, he quickly shook his head. Unable to keep looking at Yue, Hajime returned to his work.

Fascinated, Yue sidled up to watch. However, this time she stuck much closer to him as she observed him transmute. Looking at that, Kaori didn't want to lose and stuck closer to Hajime too. He didn't get flustered easily since he was accustomed with Kaori's attempt in seduction so far. He continued his work steadily.

At that moment, he realized that Shizuku had kept to herself. She had become silent and kept her distance away from Hajime. However, she would have listened to their conversation so far. Once in a while, she would send a conflicted gaze to him. Hajime realized Shizuku was still affected by his rant in Yue's sealing room, and he inwardly felt bad for her. But he wouldn't take back his words.

As he expected, he wouldn't forgive and forget what his former classmates had done to him easily. Maybe, after they begged and groveled in front of him and apologized earnestly, he would forgive them, though grudgingly, but he wouldn't just forget their past treatment so easily.

Hajime was charmed by Shizuku's thoughtfulness to other people since it showed her kindness and that she was a good woman. However, it didn't mean he would easily bend down following her whim like a trained dog. He still had his pride as a man and the suffering he experienced back in Japan and the suffering he forced to endure in this abyss was because of them. Of course, the main reason why he severed his ties with his classmates was his suffering in the abyss.

"...What's this?" Hajime was snapped from his thought by Yue's question. She pointed to the mechanical parts Hajime was currently transmuting.

There was a thin cylinder about one meter long, red bullets twenty centimeters in length, and a few other strange objects. They were all sections of a new weapon he was developing in order to make up for «Donner-Schnitt»'s lack of power. Unlike Kaori who had long range attack or Shizuku who was confident with her broken speed, he needed something to increase his odds against his enemy.

"This is, uhh... an anti-tank rifle, railgun enhanced edition. I showed you my other gun, right? This is basically just a bigger version of it, with special bullets."

Once the parts were all slotted together, it would turn into a rifle that was one and a half meters in length. He had pondered earlier how he could possibly increase his firepower, and had come to the conclusion there was no way to increase «Donner-Schnitt»'s explosive force, or the acceleration of its bullets. That simply meant that if he wanted something stronger, he would need to make a new gun. And said gun would of course need a wider and longer barrel, so it could fit larger caliber bullets and accelerate them for longer.

Hence he decided to model this one after an anti-tank rifle. Its size made it cumbersome to carry around and it could only hold one bullet at a time, but its power would be theoretically unmatched. «Donner-Schnitt» alone was already slightly more powerful than a standard anti-tank rifle, so it stood to reason that a railgun enhanced rifle would fire with enough force to pulverize most anything. The recoil alone from such a gun would be enough to destroy any normal human's arms. But, it was where his absurd physical statistic would pay its due.

Theoretically, his new weapon, «Schlagen», would be 5-6 times as strong as «Donner-Schnitt»... or at least that was the hope.

He had used parts harvested from the scorpion to make it. After the battle had concluded, he had examined the scorpion's super-hard shell. To his surprise, his «Ore Appraisal» had been effective on it, and had shown him its properties.

 **Shtar ore: A peculiar ore with a unique affinity to mana. The more mana it absorbs, the** **harder it gets.** **It appeared the scorpion's toughness had come from building its shell from shtar ore.**

Since the scorpion had probably been able to pour a huge amount of mana into it, it made for a perfect defense. It was also doubled as spear for close-to-mid range combat.

 _If it's classified as ore, I should be able to dismantle and recreate the same type ore, creating an ore with same property myself, right?_ He had tested that theory and had found he could replicate the ore quite easily. After which, a truly depressing thought had run through his mind. _Wait a minute, if this is ore, I could have_ _just transmuted that stupid scorpion's shell off to save us a ton of trouble._

In the end, they had still succeeded and he had gotten his hands on some interesting new materials, so he supposed it was alright. Once he had analyzed the ore's properties, he had instantly gotten to work making «Schlagen»'s barrel. His skills had progressed considerably since the time he had built «Donner-Schnitt», «Lanzetenblatt», and «Raikiri», and his work went far more smoothly than before.

He was very precise with how he made his bullets too. He used Taur Ore for the shell's core, and applied an outer coating of Shtar Ore over it to harden it. It was his fantasy version of a full metal jacket bullet. He also made sure his ratio of compressed Blastrock for the new bullets was perfect. Thanks to his «Duplicate Transmutation» derivative skill, a skill he created after he used «Ore Desynthesis» and «Ore Synthesis» for countless time to recreate ore he needed the most as his ammunition base, he was easily able to mass produce the bullets once he had finished a satisfactory prototype to work off of.

They, except Shizuku who was in dilemma, talked through the entire process as Hajime worked, and the time flew by quickly as he finished «Schlagen». It looked quite intimidating once it was all put together. He gazed at it proudly, satisfied with the quality of his work. Having finally finished, he realized he was quite hungry and grilled some of his cyclops and scorpion meat for them.

"Yue, you want some— Er, wait, you have transformed too, so it won't be problem, right?" Eating monster meat had become a natural routine for Hajime and his companions by that point and he invited Yue to eat with him out of habit before he realized Yue was also transformed like them. He glanced over to her and saw she was fiddling with his new weapon.

When Yue noticed his gaze, she put the part of Hajime's new gun down for a moment and shook her head saying "I don't need any food. I'm full for now" while licking her lips suggestively. With her new appearance as fully developed teenager, she looked very seductive. She had transformed from a cute girl around her thirteens into a well-endowed teenager around her eighteens. She was around Kaori's old height before the healer was transformed. However, Hajime could ignore the alluring sight since Kaori had been shameless since she was open with her own feeling.

"I guess that makes sense. You survived 300 years without it after all... Still, just take a strip from each monster's sample. You may get interesting skill like us. The cyclops gave us «Diamond Skin» skill and it is very useful for defense. It's more useful than simple Skin-Hardening spell, I concur."

"No, I only need Hajime's blood!"

At that moment, Kaori interjected.

"Don't be like that, Granny Yue! You need at least eating the sample to gain the monster's skill!" Kaori took the meat from Hajime's hands and pinned Yue's body under hers with her beautiful wrestling moves.

"Stop it! Bakaori! I don't need it! Hajime's blood is enough!"

"Be obedient and eat your meal, you stupid vampire!"

"Bakaori! Don't you understand my word? Are you really an idiot? When I said I don't wanna, I mean it, so stop it!"

"Gah! How obstinate are you? You just like stubborn old woman, are you not—Argh! Don't snap my wrists just like that! That was hurt, you stupid _old_ vampire!"

"Shut up! Don't call me old! Ei! Release your hands from my neck! Stop it! Ugh! Y-You'll s-snap my n-ne—argh!"

At first, Yue was very adamant to refuse, her red eyes showing her disgust to the Demonic Beast meat, but Kaori didn't have any of it. Kaori forcefully fed Yue the strip of each monster's sample by shoving the meat into Yue's mouth after she snapped Yue's neck and ripped her jaw open. The sight of Kaori and Yue wrestling on the ground looked like quarreling sisters in Hajime's eyes, though Hajime tried to ignore the real carnage and sounds of cracking and snapping bone from their direction. He tried his best to ignore their brutality since they had the broken skill known as «Automatic Regeneration» and to keep what remaining of his sanity intact.

Leaving the wrestling girls behind, Hajime walked in Shizuku's direction with her share of food in his hands. He offered the cooked meat awkwardly, and Shizuku accepted it silently. The atmosphere between them was very awkward. At first, Hajime wanted to say something, but he decided to wait for another time once Shizuku had sorted her internal conflict. He would wait until Shizuku arrived in her own decision. If she followed his choice, he would accept her with open arms. But if she couldn't accept his choice, he would respect her choice and sent her to her friends after they arrived in The Mavericks' abode in the end of the Labyrinth.

After that, he returned back to his work. He needed to finish the weapon's maintenance before they could continue deeper into Orcus Great Labyrinth.

— **»O«—**

"Daaaaah! Dammit!"

"You can do it, Hajime..."

"Uwah! There's too many! Yue, get down and do something?"

Hajime was running through a clump of grass, with Yue on his back. Kaori was running next to him while spamming her long range offensive magic to their pursuer. Shizuku who was still keeping her distance from Hajime kept the rear and cut any monsters that got uncomfortably close.

Thick, tall grass, coming all the way up to their shoulders, stretched out in every direction as far as the eye could see. Yue would be completely buried within the tall grass. The reason Hajime, Kaori, and Shizuku was currently whacking weeds out of the way as he ran for his life was—

"Shaaaaaaaaa!"

—because they were being chased by hundreds of monsters at once.

Once they finished their preparations, Hajime and his group had set out for the bottom of the labyrinth. They'd cleared ten or so floors with ease already. Unlike Kaori who was very good with support magic, Yue could cast any elemental spell nearly instantly, and supported Hajime from the rear. Though Yue was unparalleled when it came to offensive magic, it appeared Yue wasn't very skilled with barriers or healing. Perhaps it was because she unconsciously regarded them as unnecessary since she was able to automatically heal any wounds. Although they had «Ambrosia» with them, Kaori's healing spells and barrier was very helpful to lower the use of «Ambrosia».

That was why their travels had progressed smoothly until now. When they had first descended onto the floor they were currently on, they had been greeted by a massive sea of trees. Each tree was over ten meters tall, and they were packed together tighter than sardines. The entire floor was extremely humid as a result. However, unlike the jungle floor they had traversed earlier, it wasn't sweltering hot. As they had been searching for the next staircase, they suddenly felt a huge earthquake. Seconds later, they had found themselves face to face with a huge reptilian monster.

It looked just like a Tyrannosaurus rex. The only difference was, for some reason, it had a beautiful flower adorning the top of its head. Its sharp fangs and overflowing bloodlust clearly marked a dangerous foe, but the sunflower resting atop its head made it seem more comical than deadly. This was quite possibly the most surreal monster Hajime had faced thus far. Furthermore, Kaori's «Examine» skill also informed them that the flower was parasite that could control body it was parasitizing.

"Crimson Javelin." With Yue's soft chant, a spear of whirling flames formed out of thin air, then shot straight through the mouth of the T. rex. The heat melted the T. rex's entire head, leaving it dead in seconds. The ground shook as the beast crumpled. The flower perched on the remains of its head came off with a plop.

Hajime and others stared on, speechless. Yue'd been asserting her strength more and more aggressively recently. Originally she had just supported Hajime from behind, but as time passed she eventually just started preemptively one-shooting anything that intended to do Hajime harm. It was very clear that Yue was biased since she wouldn't raise her hand, or use her magic in this case, when it was Kaori or Shizuku who was attacked.

Hajime had fewer and fewer opportunities to show off his skills, and was starting to feel rather useless. _Is she just one-shooting them because I'm nothing but a burden to her in_ _combat?_ He began to think worriedly. If she really told him that he'd probably be depressed for weeks. And so, he holstered Donner and awkwardly asked Yue the question on his mind.

"Umm, Yue? I'm glad you're pumped to fight, but... I feel like I haven't been pulling my weight recently." Yue turned back to Hajime, and despite her poker face, he could tell she was rather proud of herself.

"...No, I will protect Hajime even though Hajime can do it. Because Hajime's my partner (husband)!" It seemed she just wasn't satisfied with only covering Hajime from behind. She had showed her assertiveness in the other area too.

"That's it!" Kaori's frustrated voice was the only warning and it was also very late before Yue's body was ripped way from Hajime's back by Kaori's hands. She seemed losing her patient for Yue's bold attempt for seducing Hajime.

"Bakaori! Take off your hand from my body! Do you wish to die early, huh? No, I decided I'm going to send you to your grave earlier!"

"Hah!? I don't want to hear that from plus three hundred years old vampire!"

"That's it! Drop down and die, Bakaori! Hajime won't miss you even you die right here, right now!"

"As expected, _Granny_ Yue is very obstinate and shameless, eh? An old lady very desperate to find love until she stole other's man, huh!? Stop being shameless and show a bit more tact befitting you old age!"

"All is fair in love and war! And can you stop calling me old?"

"As expected, a stubborn _old_ woman is really stubborn till the end, huh?"

"You said something about tact, but aren't you the tactless one? Do you know the sis-code to not speaking about age in presence of men?"

"Have you gone senile because of your sealing? That sis-code is only for young woman, you're old! Stop deluding yourself and face the reality!"

"Bakaori is idiot, idiot, idiot! Crimson Javelin!"

"Hah! Heaven Interruption! Look at you? Losing an argument and immediately using force when losing an argument. Pitiful!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! Crimson Javelin, Thunder Lance, Ice Stake!"

"As expected of an obstinate old lady, eat this! Petrifying Gaze!"

"Ugh! Strength Up! Argh! Your petrification is useless! I can just destroy my petrified body part and regenerate it back, you idiot! Composite Magic! Thunder Lance and Crimson Javelin! Thunderflame Spear (Be burned and electrocuted to death!)!"

"What an unpleasant old zombie! Now, feel despair! Composite Magic! Poison Fog, Paralyzing Powder, Wind of Confusion, and Blinding Dust combo! Fall to Despair (Super Harassment)!"

"Gale Storm! As expected of idiot Kaori! It was useless if your cowardice attack can even get close to me! Eat this, Lightning Dragon!"

Hajime and Shizuku, who watched the carnage with dull eyes without uttering a sound, were keeping their distance from the two quarreling and throwing dangerous spell to each other like nobody's business. Though he tried to tell himself that his new weapons, his and Shizuku's regenerated limbs and new skills, as well as Yue's offensive magic were the reason behind their easy progress, the main reason was the destructive carnage between Yue and Kaori that wiped all monsters around them as collateral damages.

The level of their carnage had surpassed the school girl's cat-fight long time ago, and it wouldn't be others' fault if they mistook them trying to kill each other by the intensity of their attacks to each other. The things were they couldn't die even their bodies turned into mincemeat. As long as their heads were left intact and had «Mana», they would regenerate back. He had seen it by firsthand experience when Kaori's «Gale Claws» ripped Yue's body into tiny bits or when Kaori's body turned into a smear of blood on the floor after being flattened by Yue's continuous «Ice Boulders».

"Good grief, those two!" While rubbing his forehead, Hajime complained to himself with a fed up tone and expression. He could only wait their cat-fight to stop with an amazed gaze. It was just him or did he find the teary-eyed monsters being thrown away while creating a beautiful parabolic curve with their body a refreshing sight? He wasn't losing his sanity, right?

Just like that, their shenanigans continued as they ventured deeper in Orcus Great Labyrinth...

— **»O«—**

 _ **Footnote:**_

 _And, you have the seventh chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Now, before I close this section, I want to thanks you who have left sweet review behind. For those who gave me question and suggestion, thank you and I'll answer it properly. As you can see, this story is a fanfic, so a twist that makes this story differ from the canon is given! If you don't like the twist I put in it, then you can write your own damn story or find a story that suites your taste! Anyway, I know Yue didn't transform into a demonized being after drinking Hajime's blood, but I decided to make it happen there. Although she changed, she's still a BS mage with proficiency on offensive spells, albeit she has upgrade so to speak. I mean, Hajime and group is likely going to fight Holy Prechint differently from the Canon and it's more likely going to be different than how it will happen, unlike the war for humanity survival in the canon Chapter +170. They need all edge they can get. For Kouki, too bad, I won't change my decision~_

 _Anyway, I will keep the premises like what I've planned._

 _And, don't forget to leave your review, my dear reader, and see you in the next issue ~_


	8. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Part 08

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — PART 08**_

* * *

It was a few days after they'd cleared the jungle floor with pitiful T-rex and suspicious Alraune wannabe and the rivalry between Kaori and Yue had turned more ridiculous with the passing day. They hadn't only tried to playfully harm each other anymore. Instead, they tried to break their rival in the most agonizing and brutal manner. When Hajime realized that, he quickly put his foot down and stopped them before a repairable harm occurred. Once Hajime had returned the order in their group, they went back to exploring the labyrinth.

The next floor would mark the hundredth from the one Hajime had started in.

Before they delved into it, he decided to make sure his supplies were in perfect order. As always, Yue and Kaori watched him work with unbridled enthusiasm. Though it was perhaps more accurate to say they were more interested in watching Hajime work than in watching his work itself. Today, too, they were sitting right next to Hajime, watching his hand and his face as he worked. Their expression was far too relaxed for how dangerous a place they were in.

Besides that, Shizuku still clamped herself and kept her silent, especially around him. Her guilty and conflicted expression was a dead giveaway, telling Hajime that she was still being weighed down by his revelation in Yue's sealing chamber. At least, it didn't affect their group synergy. Nevertheless, Hajime made a mental note to have a proper discussion with the straight-laced swordswoman later.

Having lost all track of time, Hajime had no way of knowing how many days had passed since they'd first met Yue, but she'd been showing him that relaxed expression quite often/recently. She'd clearly gotten used to being around him. But, it was the different matter with Kaori around her. She looked like a ruffled cat whenever Kaori was around him. What a territorial woman...

Putting that aside, their attempt at seducing him had reached ridiculous level. Especially when they were resting in their temporary bases, the both of them always stuck to him like glue. When the three of them were sleeping Kaori and Yue clung to his arms as they slept, and when the three of them were sitting the two rival girls always hugged his arms. And when Yue was sucking his blood she'd just hug him from the front. Even when she finished she'd cling to him for a long time after. She particularly enjoyed burying her face in his chest and rubbing against him. When this happens, Kaori didn't want to lose and would hug him from behind, intentionally pressing her well-endowed tits on his back, making him conscious of her matured feminine body.

But see, the problem was, Hajime was still a guy. Kaori and Yue didn't help him at all. After Yue's body transformed like them, she looked sexier. Furthermore, she was actually quite old. He normally couldn't tell due to the way she acted, but the few times her age shone through she looked so alluring that he had a hard time holding himself back. In addition, Kaori's onslaught with her newly developed figure basically drove him insane secretly. He was able to control himself only because he was aware of the constant danger that surrounded them at all times, but he wasn't confident he'd be able to withstand their temptation once they got back to the surface and they could relax for a bit. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't even sure he wanted to withstand it...

Hajime was afraid his restraint would break in the near future. If that ever happens, he would eat the two of them until nothing remains, figuratively of course.

"Ne, ne, Hajime... You're being even more careful than usual. Why's that?"

Hajime paused in the middle of his works because of Kaori's sudden inquiry. He turned his gaze to her and said, "Did you forget? The next floor's going to be the hundredth one. I just get the feeling there's going to be something big waiting for us. They say most of the labyrinths are only supposed to go one hundred floors deep too, so... Well, there's no harm in taking precautions."

Though in reality, he, Kaori, and Shizuku had traversed a further eighty floors after falling past dozens more from a floor that already was most likely deeper than the twentieth. He had long since passed the point where the standard depth of the Great Orcus Labyrinth was thought to come to an end. Considering how much deeper they had delved after already falling into the depths of hell, even he could tell he was far deeper than the endpoint of the 'normal' Great Orcus Labyrinth.

Marksmanship, physical abilities, specialized magic, weaponry, and finally transmutation. Hajime had polished his skills in each field to the utmost. His strength was quite formidable as well. Meanwhile, Kaori had polished her supportive ability into the unprecedented level. Shizuku, too, with her swordsmanship.

However, the truly scary thing about this labyrinth was that even with their strength, it might still throw something at them that could kill them without breaking a sweat. Which was why Hajime made as many preparations as he could before descending. For reference on just how strong they'd become, their current stats looked something like this.

* * *

 **Hajime Nagumo** **-** **Age: 17** **\- Gender:** **Male**

 **Level: 76**

 **Job: Synergist**

 **Strength: 1980**

 **Vitality: 2090**

 **Defense: 2070**

 **Agility: 2450**

 **Magic: 1780**

 **Magic Defense: 1780**

 **Skills: Transmute [+Ore Appraisal] [+Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore** **Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis] [+Duplicate Transmutation] — Mana Manipulation** **[+Mana Discharge] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] — Iron Stomach —** **Lightning Field —** **Underwater Breathe —** **Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] — Gale** **Claw — Night Vision — Far Sight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Sense Heat — Hide** **Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance —** **Diamond Skin — Intimidate — Telepathy —** **Automatic Regeneration —** **Language Comprehension**

* * *

 **Shirasaki Kaori - Age: 17 - Gender: Female**

 **Level: 91**

 **Job: Priestess**

 **Strength: 1750**

 **Vitality: 1810**

 **Defense: 1970**

 **Agility: 1920**

 **Magic: 3490**

 **Magic Defense: 3490**

 **Skills: Healing Magic [+Blessing] [+Miracle] [+Ten Thousand Heavens] [+Increase Effectiveness] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Range] [+Increase in Magic Power Efficiency] [+Continuous Activation] — All Elements Aptitude — Barrier Magic [+Light Severance] [+Holy Severance] [+Heaven Interruption] — High Speed Magic Power Recovery — Restrain — Examine — Focus — Infiltrate — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Bolt — Gale Claw — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] — Curse [+Petrifying Gaze] [+Poison Fog] [+Paralyzing Powder] [+ Bewildering Powder] [+ Devilish Charm] [+ Mental Interference] — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Compound Magic — Diamond Skin — Intimidate — Telepathy — Automatic Regeneration — Language Comprehension**

* * *

 **Yaegashi Shizuku - Age: 17 - Gender: Female**

 **Level: 92**

 **Job: Swordswoman**

 **Strength: 1640**

 **Vitality: 1860**

 **Defense: 1720**

 **Agility: 3560**

 **Magic: 1650**

 **Magic Defense: 1650**

 **Skills: Swordsmanship [+ Thunder Flower] [+ Flash Claw] [+ Extreme Blade] [+ No Beat] [+ Flash Draw] — Prediction — Stealth — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic] [+ Lightspeed Step] [+ Sword Hand] — Night Vision — Farsight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Compound Magic — Diamond Skin — Intimidate — Telepathy — Automatic Regeneration — Language Comprehension**

* * *

Though they received new skills with each monster they consumed, they obtained new magic less and less frequently. Boss-level monsters still gave them new magic, but the standard ones loitering around each floor had stopped granting him new spells. Hajime hypothesized that was because they were becoming more and more monster-like in constitution everytime their body strengthened itself from eating monster meat. After all, monsters didn't obtain the magic of the prey they killed and ate. However, his theory betrayed Yue's mysterious condition which transformed like them because of drinking his blood. In the end, Hajime stopped thinking about it. He was still a long way to reach the level 100 cap. He still remembered Meld's explanation about the level cap.

Unlike Hajime, Kaori and Shizuku almost reached their level cap. Too bad, they couldn't find out Yue's status because their «Status Plates» were locked to the owner's signature. Hajime and Kaori openly showed their curiosity about Yue's status after they heard that Yue's level was above 70 before she was sealed in the abyss. Shizuku was curious about that too, but she hid it better and stayed silent like a shadow in the sideline.

With their preparations finally complete, Hajime and his girls descended the stairs to the floor below. The bottom of the staircase opened up into a massive open room, empty save for the pillars that dotted the area. Each pillar had a spiral pattern engraved into its stone face. It gave off the impression that each pillar was a massive tree with vines entwined around its trunk. The pillars were all spaced evenly apart from each other, and extended all the way to the ceiling thirty meters above. The ground was unnaturally smoot, as if it had been paved. All in all, it was a very majestic room.

Hajime, Yue, Kaori, and Shizuku took a step forward as they marveled at the room's design. The moment they stepped inside, the pillars in front of them began glowing faintly. The four of them instantly returned to their senses and warily observed their surroundings. Starting from the pillars nearest to them, each set began glowing one after the other. Hajime and his girls instantly raised their guard, but after a whie, nothing more happened, so they carefully continued forward. They were on alert for any sign of enemies.

After about two hundred meters of walking, they found themselves staring at the opposite wall. Set within it was a massive set of doors. The ten-meter-tall pair of double/doors also had something engraved into them. There was a heptagon carved into each, with a peculiar pattern adorning each vertex of the shape.

"Well, that's quite the impressive entrance. Do you think this is..."

"...Where the maverick lives?" Yue responded.

It really looked like the kind of room that'd have the last boss in it. Though none of their perception skills were picking up on anything, Hajime' instincts were screaming at him nonetheless. "It's dangerous to go any further," his instinct told him. Yue, Kaori, and Shizuku felt it as well, and cold sweat beaded on their forehead.

"Well, if it is, that's just perfect. That means we've finally made it to our goal." Hajime pushed down his instincts and put on his usual fearless smile. No matter what was ahead, they had no choice but to move forward.

"...Yeah!" Yue and Kaori responded at the same time before they glared at each other in a short while. Then, they turned their glares at the double doors.

Shizuku said nothing. But, the way her hand gripping the handle of «Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)» tightly showed her tension.

They stepped forward simultaneously, walking past the last pair of pillars. The moment they cleared them... a massive, thirty-meter large magic circle appeared in the air between them and the door. It pulsed malignantly as it shot out gouts of dark red light which was eerily similar with the monsterized human's mana in their group.

This kind of magic circle was very familiar to Hajime. He could never forget the magic circle that was responsible for trapping his class on the bridge and ultimately sending Hajime hurtling down into the abyss. However, this one was three times the size of the one that had summoned the behemoth, and the inscriptions on it were far more complex and precise.

"Crap, that size is no joke. We're seriously up against this place's last boss?"

"Don't worry... we won't lose."

"We have crawled down our way here. There is a snowball's chance in hell we're going back!"

"We will win!"

Hajime's smile understandably faltered a little, but the determined expression on Yue's, Kaori's, and Shizuku's faces remained unshaken. Yue and Kaori tightly squeezed Hajime's arms while Shizuku crept closer behind him. He nodded in response, and smiled wryly as he watched the magic circle finish its summoning.

Finally, it let out one last incandescent burst of light. Hajime and his girls covered their eyes to preserve their sight. Once the illumination dimmed, they got the first glimpse of their foe. What stood before them was a monster thirty meters in length. It had six heads attached to very long necks, each of which had a different-colored pattern engraved into its head and a pair of dark red eyes. It resembled the mythical Hydra of the Greek Myths back at Hajime's, Kaori's, and Shizuku's world.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" It let out a peculiar howl and focused all six pairs of eyes on Hajime and his girls. Determined to pass judgment on the foolish intruders, the Hydra unleashed a wave of bloodlust so powerful it would have stopped a normal person's heart on the spot.

At the same time, the red-patterned head opened its jaw and unleashed a torrent of flames. A veritable wall of fire raced toward them.

They made a group, Hajime with Shizuku while Yue with Kaori, and dove in different directions, and instantly began firing off counterattacks. Hajime pulled Donner-Schmitt's trigger, and a small spark ignited the blastrock inside the bullet, which passed through an electrically charged barrel and accelerated toward the red-patterned head. The bullet slammed into the Hydra, blowing the red head clean off.

As he struck a triumphant pose, the white head let out a long screech, and white light began enveloping the destroyed red head. Then, like a tape rewinding, the red head flew back through the air and reattached itself to the Hydra's neck. So the white head's the healer.

Shizuku took a mental note at that and dashed forward in inconceivable speed, planning to cut the white head. At this moment, Yue's ice spears sheared the green head off. Before, the white head restored that one too, Shizuku appeared before it and did the Iaijutsu (the quick draw technique), severing the white head. A split second later, she returned back to her previous position, standing with her sheathed sword ready beside Hajime. From the other side, Kaori sent her «Lightning Bolt» to the separated white head, destroying it without giving the Hydra a chance to reattach its severed head. They had experienced enough bullshit as they crawled down here. The centipedes that could separate their body were telling them that not all monster within this dungeon would die by simple beheading.

Just like that, the Hydra lost its important head, depriving it of the means to heal itself. Then, Hajime and his girls brutally rained attack after attack without giving the abnormal monster a chance to counterattack.

In an anti-climatic way, the last boss was defeated. If it was only Hajime alone, or even being added by Yue or Kaori, it would come out as a drawn, long battle with heavy drama, angst, and do-or-die situation involved. However, it was different when four abnormal beings (they couldn't be called normal anymore. Not even Yue could be called a vampire after her transformation) working together.

They waited and watched the headless Hydra carefully for a moment. When they were sure it wouldn't wake up suddenly, they then relieved their tension and stared each other in the eyes, grinning widely in elation. Even Yue spotted a small smile on her face.

At that moment, Yue and Kaori seized each other in the split second before they dashed in Hajime's direction. The boy was caught off guard when they slammed into him and hugged him tightly while glaring at each other. As the Vampire Queen and the Demonic Priestess glared at one another, only Hajime realized that Shizuku kept her distance from them. She had a conflicted expression as she gazed at the group hug.

 _I need to sort everything out with her, I guess_. That thought flashed in Hajime's mind before he ushered his girls into the door behind the corpse of Hydra. It was the time to pay a visit into the abode of Maverick, and he dearly hoped there would be a means to leave this abyss in the Maverick's place.

* * *

Let's rewind the time and see what happens with the group of the transported students for a moment.

The same day that Hajime and Kaori fell into the abyss, Meld took the remaining students and the unconscious Kouki and Shizuku to the surface. They didn't immediately return back to the castle but staying at the inn for the night. Meld thought it was the good choice in the meantime since the student seemed shaken by what happened. Never he thought that Shizuku would wake up sooner than expected and dived back into the Orcus Great Labyrinth to find Kaori.

The news of Shizuku's departure was another heavy blow to the moral of the transported student. They began doubting if what they did was correct. Their unity which was rallied together by Kouki's lead became fragile. But, the main heavy blow that shattered their believes was when Kouki regained his consciousness and found out both of Kaori and Shizuku had disappeared.

It was like the 'Hero' had turned insane. He tried to dive back into the dungeon, ignoring any attempt to dissuade his foolish idea. He even knocked down anyone that tried to stop it. He was stopped by the joined effort of several male students, led by Sakagami Ryōtarō, Kouki's male best friend, before he was knocked out once again. Then, they returned back to the Heilig Kingdom, to the castle where they resided while they were in Tortus.

Their reason for returning was quite simple. Even if they avoided talking about it, Hajime's and Kaori's KIA status and Shizuku's MIA status had still been weighing down on most of the students. They had realized they might really die fighting here in this world, and that fact had greatly shaken their confidence in their abilities. The KIA and MIA statuses of their classmates had traumatized them. In addition, Kouki unstable condition just punted their moral down the ground deeper.

Naturally, the Holy Church was not happy with the turn of events. They urged the students to go back and gain more practical fighting experience, thinking time and familiarity would heal their wounds. However, Hatayama Aiko, the homeroom teacher of the transported students, had vehemently opposed that plan. She hadn't been present for the fateful excursion where Hajime fell and Kaori followed closely behind. Because of the rare and valuable job she possessed, the Holy Church wanted her to focus on cultivating the land over building up combat experience. So long as they had her agricultural powers, they could easily solve their food problems.

When she had learned of Hajime's and Kaori's KIA status, as well as Shizuku's MIA status, Aiko had fainted from shock. She had felt responsible for the students, and couldn't forgive herself for hiding back at the castle where it was safe while her students had fought and presumably died. She blamed herself for not being able to bring everyone back to Japan safely. Hence why she firmly refused to allow her students to be exposed to any further danger.

Her job was special enough that she was capable of single-handedly revolutionizing the agricultural standards of this world. So when she protested any further practical training exercises, the Holy Church had no choice but to acquiesce. They couldn't afford to antagonize Aiko.

However, the Holy Church felt their god truly favored them when Kouki who had woken up demanded them to give them more power. He demanded the Holy Church to find a way for him to get more power so he could save his two female childhood friends. He was in denial about the death of Kaori and Shizuku and he swore to retrieve them from the Orcus Great Labyrinth.

For a short while, the Holy Church was pressed by Kouki's unreasonable demand and was driven to the wall. They knew that Kouki was important for their cause. Fortunately, their god favored them yet again. This time, their god directly helped them with their problem, namely sending one of his Sacred Apostle, the Angel Nointo from the Holy Precinct.

To cut the story short, Kouki followed Nointo to Holy Precinct, the Sacred Ground and the home of the God Ehitorujue for special training for Hero. Walking away to the Holy Ground, Sakagami Ryōtarō and Nakamura Eri followed Kouki. They left the other students who weren't in the correct state of mind and were unaware they were dooming themselves.

And currently, another student wanted to find his own way in this dangerous world, to find a way back to their homeland since he'd realized the Holy Church only cared for their war with the Demon, disregarding the state of the transported students. This boy is no other than Kōsuke Endō.

Kōsuke was always the peanut gallery in the class. He was even forgotten by his friend the most of the time because of his thin presence. He'd accepted he would become the background character who was easily forgotten. But, the event after event that shattered the unity of the transported students and the certain incident when he accidentally stumbled into Hayama who was alone and driven by his guilt because he was the one who shot the 'stray' fireball in Hajime's direction trying to convince himself it wasn't his fault that everything went FUBAR.

Usually, Kōsuke was a passive guy, but the KIA status of Hajime and Kaori and MIA status of Shizuku made him realize that they wouldn't return back to their homeland, to their family, if nothing changed. Therefore, he planned to leave the castle and found a way to return back into their homeland, alone if he must. He told Aiko about his plan, but he was surprised by the youthful and awkward teacher's response.

"Then, bring me with you, Endō-kun."

Kōsuke was surprised and flustered when heard Aiko's strong voice. "W-what? Are you sure Sensei? Don't you have an important job in the kingdom?" He asked unconsciously.

"Perhaps," she responded. "But, I'm your teacher first. It's my responsibility to keep you all, my students, safe. I have failed Nagumo-kun, Shirahashi-kun, and Yaegashi-kun. There's no way I'd let my other students die under my watch." She paused and regarded Kōsuke silently for a moment. Then, she continued, "I knew you have made your decision. My words alone won't change your mind. Thus, I decided to go with you. At least, I can still keep watching you or I'd feel regret for doing nothing."

Kōsuke became speechless because he never thought the teacher he and his classmates looked down and treated with less respect she deserved could show such a strong sense of responsibility in this precarious time. At this, he felt guilty yet again.

First, he felt guilty when he could do nothing for Hajime. Although they weren't close, Kōsuke always saw Hajime as his kindred spirit. He was also an Otaku, though he hid it, unlike Hajime who was open with his hobby and interest. He had been feeling guilty when he could only watch Hajime got bullied back in Japan. He also felt guilty because he was a coward before.

At this moment, he felt guilty because he never treated Aiko with respect befitting of her concern for and strong responsibility towards her students.

In a short while, he said nothing, dallying back and forth as he weighed his choice. He didn't want to bring Aiko in his foolhardy quest. He believed in his ability to stay unnoticed when things turned south. But, he didn't have confidence he could keep Aiko's safety.

At this moment, the door of Aiko's room was opened from outside. Then, several students entered the room with the determined expression on their face.

"Endō, if you plan to find a way to get back home, count Suzu in!" Suzu said in her usual childish way of speaking. Then, she continued, surprisingly with the more normal way of speaking, though it sounded tired and resigned. "To be honest, I'm afraid to walk out of the castle after what happened in the labyrinth. However, I couldn't do a damn thing when Kaorin jumped after Nagumo or when Shizuku-rin left or when Kouki, Ryōtarō, and Erin left to the Holy Precinct. But, I know nothing will change if I keep like this and doing nothing. Besides, I want to meet my father and mother again. I knew this sounds stupid but I wanted to find my way back to Japan myself."

"Count us too! We have sworn to protect Aiko-sensei. We are her personal bodyguard and admirer after all! Whenever she goes, we will follow her!" Sonobe Yūka exclaimed. The other members of Ai-chan's bodyguard squad who were standing behind her nodded their head in agreement.

The Ai-chan's bodyguard squad was started when the Heilig Kingdom assigned several knights as Aiko's bodyguards while she was assigned to help the agriculture of the Kingdom.

Incidentally, the knights assigned to guard Aiko had also tried to convince the students to remain at the castle, but the students hadn't taken kindly to that at all. There was a reason the students mistrusted the knights. And that reason could be summed up in a single sentence.

"Like hell we're going to let some random nobody take Ai-chan from us!" The students were more worried about the knights assigned to guard Aiko than they were about meeting bandits or monsters on the road. Their fears weren't entirely baseless. Every knight assigned to Aiko was oddly good-looking. And in truth, the kingdom was hoping to tie Aiko down to their country, so the knights really were a trap. The student that had figured that out had shared the information with everyone else, which was why they'd formed a "Protect Ai-chan from the hot guy troop" defense force.

After the tragedy in Orcus Great Labyrinth, the students had now been separated into three groups. Kouki's group that left to Holy Precinct, the group that chose to remain in the castle, and now the group that would serve as Aiko's bodyguards.

The de facto leader of "Protect Ai-chan from the hot guy troop," henceforth called "Ai-chan's bodyguards," was Sonobe Yūka. Her friends, Nana Miyazaki and Sugawara Taeko, along with Atsushi Tamai and his friends Aikawa Noboru, Nimura Akito, and Shimizu Yukitoshi made up the entirety of their seven-person group. Many of them still hadn't fully recovered from their trauma yet and they did this because they wanted to follow Aiko who had helped them when they were down.

"Guys..." Kōsuke murmured softly. He was touched by their words and a show of camaraderie. At least, he knew that he was mistaken about one thing. He wasn't alone. There were people he could count on.

As a matter of fact, Kōsuke had lost faith in his friends after he stumbled into Hayama and his unintentional revelation. Fortunately, he was mistaken. Someone, several people, still cared.

"So, when are we going to leave? Suzu wants to prepare everything for the journey. Suzu thinks this stupid decision to leave won't be easy."

"Nothing is easy, Taniguchi. Nothing is ever easy."

Yuuka responded to Suzu's words first.

Kōsuke said nothing for a short while as he thought about it. Since the departure of Shizuku, the guards around the students had been increasing. The Kingdom and the Holy Church didn't want for another hero or heroine going AWOL under their nose. Rather than the honored hero and heroes, the students felt like they were a prisoner instead.

"At the early morning before the dawn. At that time, the guards are a bit lax. We'll leave at that time." Kōsuke stated. The other agreed with him and they quickly returned back to their room and prepared for their long and dangerous journey.

A few hours later, before the dawn, Kōsuke and his group left the castle. They didn't know it but they would meet their presumed death and missing friends later and they would become the important member of the court belongs to the overpowered man who'd be known as the King of Demons in the future. And Kōsuke Endō would become his right hand and was known by his epithet; the Demon Duke of Darkness and the Lord of Abyss, Abysslord E. Kōsuke, much to his chagrin and disgust.

* * *

 _ **AN: Well, guys, it has been a long time since my last update, has it? Well, I won't try to rationale my long absent. It's IRL matter. Just leave it like that. At least, I can say that I'm going to return for my story for a while. Other than that, sorry if the fight againsf Hydra was anticlimatic. Well, what did you expect. With op companions at his side, it wouldn't be a trouble to kill the Hydra. Don't forget to leave a review will you ;)**_


	9. Arc I: Orcus Great Labyrinth - Last Part

_**DISCLAIMER IS IN THE FIRST CHAPTER!**_

 _ **ARC I: ORCUS GREAT LABYRINTH — LAST PART**_

* * *

As Hajime and co passed the double doors behind Hydra's corpse, they were stunned at the sight that greeted them inside.

The sun was shining brightly into the room. Of course, they were still underground, so it couldn't possibly have been the real sun.

There was a giant conical structure hanging high above the ceiling, with a dazzlingly bright orb hugging the cone's bottom side. The reason Hajime's mind had instantly thought of sunlight was not only due to the light and warmth, but also because it had none of the artificial quality present in lamps or fluorescent lighting.

"...It looks like the real sun." Kaori murmured. She had the same dazed expression as the other.

However, their dazed state was cut short when they realized they'd lowered their guard. They waited for attack, but nothing happened. They exchanged silent gazes and slowly lowered their guards. They had realized the sound of rushing water filled the room as well.

The room they were in was about the size of a baseball stadium, with the wall in the far back completely covered by a waterfall. Water poured out of a small opening in the ceiling and fell into a river below that flowed further in, passing through a cavern on the far wall. The rush of falling water created a refreshing breeze that blew pleasantly across their faces. Upon closer inspection, Hajime discovered that there were fish living in the river too. It was possible the fish had followed the river's current and traveled there from the surface.

The normal fish told Hajime and co that this place didn't have any monsters like the rest of the abyss. It made them relaxed even more.

A short distance from the river was a miniature farm. There didn't seem to be anything growing there at the moment. Next to the fields stood a cozy looking barn. Though it seemed empty, it was clear with the supply of water, fish, meat, and vegetables present that one could cook anything they were so inclined to. The entire room was covered in greenery and there were trees scattered about the area.

Hajime decided to explore the side closest to him first, and started walking toward a building located next to the bedroom they'd been sleeping in. It was more a structure carved directly out of the rock wall than a building.

They found most of the doors were locked and left them be for the meantime.

The rock that the house was carved out of appeared to be some kind of white limestone. It gave of a very clean look, and another one of those light spheres was hanging from the entrance's ceiling. The light was a bit too dazzling for Hajime and his girls, who'd spent a great deal of time surrounded by darkness. The house was three stories tall and well ventilated throughout.

They decided to start by exploring the first floor.

There was a thick rug laid out next to a fireplace, a living room furnished with sofas, a kitchen, and even a bathroom. Interestingly enough, the place appeared brand new.

Though they found no presence of other people, it seemed obviously lived in. The appliances and furniture hadn't seen use in quite some time, but it was clear their owner took good care of them. Rather than an inhabited dwelling, it felt more like a house someone simply managed. Hajime and co warily continued deeper into the house.

After a while, they found themselves standing outside again. There was an oval-shaped door that led to a backyard of sorts that contained a lion statue. The lion's mouth was open mid-roar. Next to the statue was a magic circle. Hajime experimentally poured some mana into it, and hot water jettisoned out of the lion's gaping maw. Apparently lion fountains were a staple of high-class places no matter which world one was in.

"This is basically a bath, isn't it? Perfect, it's been months since I last took one." Hajime smiled lightly. The rest showed more open expression because they cared more for their hygiene because they were woman. Until that point they had never had the luxury to worry about hygiene, but now that they were finally able to take a breather they realized they were filthy all over.

Hajime used the magic circle to pour out some more water and lightly wiped his body down as a temporary measure.

Still, that wasn't enough to satisfy him and the girls. Hajime, Kaori, and Shizuku were Japanese, and like all their countrymen, they loved baths. On the other hand, Yue was a former royalty and had sat on the throne for a short while. It could be said the proud vampire queen had similar sentiment about hygiene with them. Once they were sure the area was safe, Hajim was going to take a nice long soak and cleanse himself properly. The girls also mirrored his idea secretly.

At this point, Yue caught Hajime growing excitement, and chimed in with her opinion on the matter. "...Do you want to go in together?"

"I'd prefer to relax alone for a bit..." Hajime responded unsurely because he actually didn't mind about that.

"Hajime, I can rub your back if you want. No, I'd be happy to help you clean yourself later." Didn't want to lose against her bitter rival, Kaori also offered her service.

"Unoriginal bitch..." Yue openly insulted Kaori and got deadly glare from Kaori. It was a glare that could make any lesser man wail like a little bitch shamelessly. Kaori's pupils constricted into dots and the light in her eyes dulled. Her eyes looked dead and terrifying. To counter Kaori's (Hajime dubbed it as) yandere glare, Yue glared with her own brand of threatening appearance; her dark pupils elongated vertically into slits splitting her irises and her canines growing longer and jutting down from her sneer.

Before the two girls started their carnage, Hajime broke the standoff and dragged the two dangerous girls to the second floor. There they discovered a library and a workshop of some kind. But the bookshelves and the door inside the workshop were all locked, so they weren't able to do a thorough examination of the rooms. They tried various means of opening them, but none worked, so they simply gave up. The walls and doors of this place were like the walls, floors and ceilings in the abyss.

After that, they climbed the stairs to the third floor and saw a single room set in the back. There was nothing else on the floor. As Hajime pushed open the door, he saw an eight-meter-long magic circle inlaid on the floor that had some of the most complex and subtle inscriptions he had ever seen. The circle's design and layout were so detailed that it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to call the whole thing a work of art.

But what caught Hajime's and other's eyes most was the person sitting in an ostentatious chair right next to the circle.

Said person was clearly dead. The corpse had already decayed until nothing but bones remained, and it was clothed in a grand robe of black and gold. There was not the slightest hint of dust or grime anywhere on the robe. The impeccable cleanliness of the corpse made it seem more akin to a haunted house prop than something actually scary.

It was splayed out on the chair in a relaxed pose, with the skull's empty sockets staring down at its own figure. Almost as if the person it had once been had simply sat down there and died that way. The skeleton and magic circle were the only objects in the room.

 _Why'd they choose to come here to die and not their bedroom or the living room...?_ Hajime couldn't help but retort at the spectacle.

"Looks suspicious... What should we do?" Yue asked. She and the other girls seemed concerned about the skeleton as well. Hajime assumed it must have belonged to the maverick that was said to live here.

The strange thing was that he died peacefully sitting like that, as if he were waiting for someone. He couldn't help but feel something tickling him inside. He couldn't properly realize what it was because he was still fresh from the abyss. However, he would realize it later but not now.

"Well, if we want to find a way out, this room seems to be our best bet. Even Transmutation couldn't do anything to the locks we found in the library and the workshop, so... this is the only thing left to investigate. Yue, Kaori, and Shizuku, be ready for anything. I'll be counting on you if something happens."

"No! I'm going to check it out! Hajime! You stand here obediently like a good boy!"

Hajime was surprised by Kaori's sudden outburst. Unfortunately, Kaori's obsession in keeping him safe had leveled up after she got Automatic Regeneration, discarding the fact that Hajime was also nigh-immortal with his own Automatic Regeneration. Before Hajime and Shizuku could stop her, Kaori used Supersonic Step and appeared above the magic circle before Hajime. Yue had decided to be silent and let Kaori be the Guinea Pig for them. Hajime quickly jumped after Kaori who was infusing her mana into the magic circle.

Suddenly, the entire room was filled with bright yellow light. Hajime and Kaori closed their eyes, unable to handle the intensity. A second later, it felt as if something invaded their head, and they began seeing flashbacks of their time in the abyss, starting from when he fell all the way up until they fought the Hydra.

Finally, the magic circle's power began to wane and the light dimmed somewhat. The both Hajime and Kaori opened their eyes... and saw a black-robed young man standing before them. They hadn't sensed him enter the room at all.

The magic circle still glowed faintly, filling the room with a mystical light. Hajime instantly shifted into a battle stance and Kaori stood in front of Hajime with hands covered with insane amount of crackling voltage, but after a few seconds they lowered his guard. Not only could he not feel any hostility or malice coming from the man in front of him, but the figure himself didn't seem real. When he scrutinized it a little further, Hajime realized the robe he was wearing was the same as the one the skeleton had. That told him enough to guess who the man in front of him probably was.

Hajime and the others silently gazed at the figure, waiting for something to happen. Finally, the apparition began to speak.

"I congratulate you on overcoming my trial. My name is Oscar Orcus. I am the man who created this labyrinth. I suppose to the world I'm known as a maverick." It seemed the dead man sitting in front of them was Oscar Orcus, the creator of the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Hajime and Co stared, half surprised, half expecting it.

"By the way, please spare me the questions. This is nothing more than a recording I left behind, so I unfortunately cannot answer any queries you may have. I wanted to tell those who made it this far why it was that we, who learned the truth of the world, chose to fight against the gods... so I decided to leave a message. And this was the simplest form to convey that message in. I want you to know... that though we were mavericks, we were not truly rebels."

The story he wove for them was completely different from the historyHajime, Kaori, and Shizuku had learned from the Holy Church's records and explanation, or the stories Yue had been told about the mavericks. The revelations Oscar had for them shocked Yue to the core. But, Hajime, Kaori, and Shizuku had half-expected it after the found Denreed's recording for Yue, no, Aleytia—Yue's true name.

His tale was one of mad gods and their descendants who fought against them.

A short time after the Age of the Gods, the world was engulfed in strife. Humans, demons, and even beastmen all fought against each other in a never-ending war. Their reasons were as numerous as their battles. Land, resources, personal values, greed, but most important among them was theology.

In that age, the races and countries were split up into numerous factions, each of which had their own god. And it was each tribe's god that incited its people to fight against those who worshiped others.

After some time, a group appeared that sought to put an end to this centuries-long war.

They called themselves the Liberators.

There was only one thing they all had in common. Each member was a direct descendant of one of the gods. Their leader was someone who had, by coincidence, happened to learn of the gods' true intentions. It appeared that the gods were using the various races like pawns, playing a grand game of chess with the world as their board. The leader of the Liberators couldn't stand their sickening disregard for life, and began looking for comrades who felt the same way he did.

After an arduous search, they were able to discover the location of Asgard, the home of the gods. There were seven among the Liberators who were exceptionally powerful, and they were chosen to be the vanguard in the battle against the gods.

However, their plans were foiled before the battle could even begin. The gods manipulated the sentient races and made them believe the Liberators were trying to destroy the world. They were marked as enemies of the gods, and every human, demon, and beastman considered them their mortal foe.

After a great many conspiracies, events, and dramatic encounters, the Liberators found themselves on the run. They couldn't bring themselves to fight the people they had sworn to protect, but those very people believed they were ungrateful heretics trying to bring about the end of the world. Their true name was forgotten, and they were known simply as mavericks in the annals of history.

The Liberators were killed off one by one, until only the strongest seven remained. With the entire world against them, they realized they wouldn't be able to defeat the gods. So they scattered to the ends of the earth and built huge labyrinths to hide themselves in.

They created a series of trials, praying that someone who could clear them might one day appear, so they could bequeath their powers onto them in hopes that these new warriors would carry out their dreams.

After he finished his long speech, Oscar smiled peacefully.

"I have no idea who you are, or why you chose to fight your way down here. Nor do I have any intention of forcing my own dreams of the gods' demise onto you. I simply wanted you to know what it was we fought, and died, for... As a reward for hearing me out, I shall grant you my strength. How you use it is entirely up to you. I can only pray you won't use it for evil. That's all I have to say. Thank you for listening to the end. May the 'blessings' of the gods never reach you…"

Oscar's apparition vanished once he finished talking. At the same time, Hajime and Kaori felt something strange enter their mind. The sensation was quite painful, but because they knew what was happening, they quietly let it enter inside them.

The pain finally subsided, and the magic circle grew dim once more. Hajime and Kaori let out a long breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding in the whole time.

"Kaori, Hajime, what happened? Are you fine?" Shizuku approached them and asked in concern.

"Hajime... are you ok?" On the other hand, Yue had a tunnel vision only for Hajime.

"Yeah, I'm fine... But man, what a tale."

Kaori and Shizuku silently nodded, wholeheartedly agreed with Hajime's opinion.

"Yeah... What are you going to do?"

Yue was referring, of course, to Oscar's tale. Kaori and Shizuku immediately fixed their attention on him, urging him to answer with their impatient gazes.

"Hm? Nothing really. It was those good-for-nothing gods that summoned me, Kaori, and Shizuku here in the first place and told us to go fight in their war. I hate them as it is anyway. Still, this world's got nothing to do with me. All I care about is making it back to the surface and finding a way home. That's all..." He paused and turned his attention to Kaori and Shizuku. He found Kaori nodded at him, fully agreed with him. On the contrary, Shizuku had thoughtful grimace on her face. They said nothing and Hajime gave Yue his attention. "Did his story bother you, Yue?"

The old Hajime and Kaori might have been more sympathetic to this world's plight, but the reforged Hajime discarded Oscar's tale without so much as a second thought while Kaori would follow anything he decided. Too eager to please him until it was the short of unhealthy obsession. For Hajime, Oscar's tale is this world's problem, so the people of this world should deal with it. On the other hand, Shizuku still retained her compassion even though she'd been broken by the abyss. Hence, she was in dilemma and clamped herself around Hajime after his revelation in Yue's sealing chamber. Since Hajime had realized that Shizuku was also very important to him, just as Yue and Kaori. Yue was someone of this world. Which was why, if Shizuku and Yue said they wanted to do something about it, Hajime might have reconsidered. His bond with Yue and Shizuku wasn't something he could discard as easily Oscar's story.

However, Yue shook her head without hesitation.

"My home is wherever you are... I don't care about anywhere else." She sidled up to Hajime and squeezed his hand. The warmth of her hand told him she wasn't just trying to be considerate.

Yue once devoted her entire life to her country. Despite that, she was betrayed by the ones she trusted most and left to rot in the darkness. None of her subjects came to save her. Three hundred years had passed since then, and all the people she knew were long since dead. For Yue, there was not a single thing left to care about in this world. In fact, much like Hajime, she had started to see the realm as a prison more than her home after being trapped for so long. And it was Hajime who had saved her from that prison, which was why she only cared about being by Hajime's side. There was also the fact that Yue had chosen Hajime as her future spouse. As expected for a former queen who devoted to her country once, Yue was surprisingly a devoted type of a woman beneath her proud nature as vampire queen.

"...I see." Hajime blushed a little. He then cleared his throat because he could feel murderous intent from Kaori. The girl had been considerate enough to give him a time and a chance to talk. But, it was clear that she disliked how Yue acted around him.

When Hajime shifted his vision in Shizuku's direction, their eyes met and the swordswoman quickly averted her eyes. Her grimace deepened. Hajime withheld a sigh, reinforcing his decision to have a private talk with Shizuku to short everything out, and then dropped a bombshell of an announcement, which didn't affect Kaori since she already knew about it.

"Umm, also, I think I learned a new spell... Some kind of magic from the Age of the Gods, I think?"

"...Really?" Yue said, amazed. Her surprise was understandable. After all, magic from the Age of the Gods was something the gods had once used, magic that no longer existed in the present day. Teleportation magic was from that age as well. Shizuku shifted her attention back to him again and there was a hint of surprise in her blood red eyes.

Hajime nodded and continued. "This magic circle did something to my head, and it's like I suddenly understand how it works, kind of."

"Don't worry. It hadn't done something suspicious or dangerous to us, though I think this magic is suited Hajime's ability better that mine." Kaori added.

"Yeah, what Kaori said. This spell's a perfect fit for me." Hajime confirmed.

"...What kind of spell is it?"

At Yue's question, he responded after thinking for a moment. "Umm, it's a creation spell of some kind. It lets me add magical properties to minerals, and create new ore with special traits."

Yue's jaw hung open as she listened to Hajime's explanation. Shizuku showed more subdued reaction, her eyes widening slightly. Both of them realized what kind of magic that was.

"You can make artifacts?" Yue asked in subdued excitement.

"Yeah, something like that."

The creation spell Hajime and Kaori had inherited was the same magic people had used to create artifacts in the Age of the Gods. Truly, it was the perfect skill for a Synergist. Though Hajime didn't know it, Oscar's job had also been Synergist.

"You want to learn it too, Yue, Shizuku? You just have to step into the magic circle. It does this kind of thing where it runs through your memories. Oscar said something about a trial earlier too, so since we cleared it together, you should have the right to learn it as well."

"...I can't use transmutation."

"This spell is useless for me too..."

Yue and Shizuku answered at the same time.

"Oh yeah, I guess that's true... Still, it's magic from the Age of the Gods. There's no real harm in learning it either way, right?"

Yue and Shizuku exchanged glances silently before agreeing with Hajime.

"Okay. If you want me to, Hajime."

Urged onward by Hajime, Yue stepped into the magic circle first. It began glowing faintly and started probing Yue's memories. It must have decided Yue had cleared the conditions as well, since the apparition appeared once more.

"I congratulate you on overcoming my trial. My name is Oscar..."

Oscar's disembodied voice rang out for a second time. Having it happen a second time kind of ruined the moment. Oscar repeated the same words he had earlier, so Hajime and co ignored him and continued their conversation.

"How'd it go? Did you learn it?"

"Yeah, I did. But artifacts don't make much sense to me."

"Hmmm, I guess even ancient magic is useless unless you've got an affinity for it."

The vision of Oscar smiled as it wrapped up its conversation. It was kind of surreal, really. Hajime couldn't be sure he didn't imagine it, but it felt like the skeleton behind the vision looked somewhat sad. Then, it repeated again when it was Shizuku turn. This time, they disregarded Oscar's apparition entirely. Hajime swore he was hallucinating that the bone became teary-eyed.

"Ah, since I guess this house is basically ours now, we should get rid of the skeleton." He had no respect for the corpse at all.

"Yeah... He'll make good fertilizer for the fields." Neither did Yue.

"The dead should be useful for the life, yeah." Kaori too.

Though there was no wind, Oscar's skull fell forward another few inches.

"Guys, I think we should give him more respect since he gave us his Age of God's magic." Shizuku, the sole reason in their group, tried to dissuade the others for turning Oscar's remaining as a fertilizer.

Somehow, Oscar's skull returned back to its previous position. Shizuku blinked her eyes in bemusement and unease when she saw the grateful expression of the skull. Maybe, they were too tired and hallucinated…

After that, they buried Oscar's skeleton near the edge of the field and even gave him a modest gravestone. In the end, even they felt enough pity for him that they didn't just make him into fertilizer. Once the burial was finished, Hajime and Co returned to the two places that had been locked before. When they had buried him, they'd relieved him of the ring he'd been wearing on his skeletal finger. It wasn't grave-robbing, since he hadn't been buried yet.

The ring had a symbol of a circle with a cross splitting it into even sections engraved on it, which matched the engravings on the locks perfectly.

First, they went to the library. They were hoping some of the books would have knowledge on how to get back to the surface. Hajime and co broke the seal on the bookshelves and started perusing the volumes. During their search, they discovered what appeared to be the building's blueprints. It wasn't nearly as detailed as a proper set of blueprints, but there were a lot of memos about what would be built where and how the layout of the house would look.

"Bingo! I found it, girls!"

"Nice."

"Good job, Hajime!"

Although Shizuku didn't join Yue and Kaori in congratulating Hajime, she had a small smile to congratulate him.

According to the blueprints, the magic circle on the third floor connected to another circle that would teleport them back to the surface. It seemed that function could only be activated with Orcus' ring, though. It was fortunate they'd sto— taken it from him. They also learned that cleaning was handled automatically at set intervals by golems that normally rested in one of the workshop rooms, and that the globe hanging from the ceiling possessed the same properties as the sun, so they could grow crops if they wished.

 _So that's why it's so clean even though no one's lived here in ages._ That realization flashed in everyone's mind.

There were a number of artifacts and rare materials Oscar had been working with in the locked room of his workshop, according to the memos. Hajime decided to ste— take those too. It couldn't hurt to have more items to work with after all.

"Hajime... look at this."

"Hm?"

Shizuku had been looking through the other books while Hajime, Yue, and Kaori had pored over the blueprints and other books that took their interest, and she came to him with one of them in her hands. It turned out to be Oscar's diary. It chronicled the normal everyday life of Oscar and his six powerful companions. One of the passages in it talked about the labyrinths his six comrades had made.

"...So basically, that means if we conquer the other labyrinths, we can get all the ancient magic the other Liberators possessed too?"

"...who knows?"

"...perhaps."

Kaori made a deduction with a thoughtful frown. Hajime shrugged his shoulders at that while Yue responded with a clipped tone.

According to his diary, his six comrades had also designed their labyrinths so that anyone who made it all the way to its furthest depths would be granted magic from the Age of the Gods. Unfortunately, it didn't go into the specifics of what kind of magic each had.

"One of them might help us get back to our world."

 _Shizuku definitely has a point there. After all, the teleportation magic that summoned my class here was from the Age of the Gods too._ Hajime's internally agreed with Shizuku's opinion. "Now we have an idea of where to look next. Our goal after we get back to the surface is to conquer the other six labyrinths."

"Yeah." Yue, Kaori, and Shizuku agreed with his plan easily enough. They had seen him as their capable leader and more.

Hajime smiled, glad he'd finally found a lead. He started unconsciously patting Yue's head since she was closer in his reach, to which she closed her eyes happily and let herself be spoiled while Kaori glared in jealousy. In the end, Hajime's hands were busy patting the two girls' heads while Shizuku watched silently in amusement.

After that, they searched around the library for a while longer, but they couldn't find any books telling them the exact locations of the other labyrinths. For now, they were stuck with the two whose locations were known, the Grand Gruen Volcano and the Haltina Woods. They could also start searching around the Reisen Gorge and Schnee Snow Fields, where two other labyrinths were said to be hidden.

Once they finished rummaging through the library, the pair headed over to the workshop. There were a number of locked doors in the workshop, all of which Hajime opened with Orcus' ring. Crammed inside were all manner of ore, tools with unknown purposes, and work manuals. The entire treasure trove was a Synergist's wet dream come true. Hajime folded his arms as he lapsed into thought. The girls tilted her head, puzzled, and Kaori beat Yue first for asking him the question on their minds.

"...What's wrong?"

After thinking deeply for a few minutes, Hajime turned to his girls and answered.

"Hmm, well I was thinking. How about we stay here for a little while, girls? Don't get me wrong, I'm eager to return to the surface too... but since there's all this stuff to explore and learn about, it might be better to make this our base and rest up for a bit. Especially since if we're going to be heading for the other labyrinths next, it'd be best to prepare ourselves as much as possible. What do you think?" Hajime was trying to be considerate of Yue, since he figured after 300 years of darkness she was aching to see the light, but she agreed rather quickly after looking at him blankly for a few seconds. Hajime found that a little strange, but she just gave him a curt reply.

"...As long as I'm with you, Hajime, anywhere is fine." It seemed she didn't harbor any burning desire to see the sun. Hajime blushed and scratched his cheek when he heard her declare that so boldly. Though, Kaori was displeased at that and hugged Hajime from behind possessively, pressing her generous tits on his back.

Shizuku seemed to have different opinion, but she held back her opinion because she was outvoted three two one. In the end, she agreed in resignation.

With that settled, the two decided to stay there to train and prepare as much as possible.

* * *

Two months and give and take several days had passed since they arrived in Oscar's place. Hajime and Shizuku had sorted out everything out at the night when Yue and Kaori were sleeping deeply and peacefully. How that happens is a story for another time.

His relationship with his girls had become official. Both Hajime's body and spirit had been reforged by fighting the monstrosities that inhabited the deepest pits of hell. But no matter how much the abyss might have toughened him up, he still had had no chance of fending off Yue's and Kaori's aggressive advances.

When the Vampire Queen and Demonic Priestess teamed up against him, not even Lady Ashura could help the Monster of Abyss. Although, most of the time, Shizuku was carried away by Yue's and Kaori's max tensions and joined them in squeezing Hajime dry.

Hajime realized the sad truth that he almost died many times because he was squeezed dry by his women than fighting in the abyss. Those three were savages when they were in the right mood.

So, in the end, he decided to simply accept his fate.

He'd known for a while that Yue had feelings for him. It was actually part of why he'd promised to bring Yue back home with him. Plus, he'd realized he cared for Kaori and Shizuku too, but had given himself flimsy excuses like telling himself he needed to keep his mind focused on the goal or he'd never make it back home to keep himself from acting on those feelings.

But then they'd managed to discover a safe location to turn into their base, and a hint on how he could find his way home, so even that flimsy pretext had vanished. Without any reason left to turn down Yue and Kaori, he could no longer resist. And with the problem between him and Shizuku was sorted up, he decided to propose the three of them at once.

He knew he was being unreasonable. But, he went "Fuck monogamy! We have gone through many deadly situations together and we have changed from the past us! Let me do this and become the proper Isekai Harem Protagonist, yeah!"

Their idyllic lifestyle in the following months had been so full of coquettish flirtation that anyone watching them would have started tearing their hair out in annoyance. Somehow, when Yue and Kaori latched on his arms while Shizuku would latch on his back, they would create their own brand of the Age of God's magic that rewrite the reality around them, turning everything around them into glittering pink personal reality in which rose petals raining down from nowhere and twinkling bubble floating around. It was the scene straight out of Hajime's mom —Nagumo Sumire— Shoujou manga.

Around the same time, somewhere very far away, a group of boys and girls with a single awkward adult that didn't look like one and a leader who was mostly forgotten because of his thin presence was trying to survive in the treacherous wilderness of Tortus. They met a group of kindhearted and overly pacifist rabbit beastmen who had been kicked out from their homeland and journeyed together. It was an omen of what was soon to come.

"...Hajime, how does that feel?"

"Ahhh, yeah that's perfect, Yue."

"Ne, ne, Hajime, what about me?"

"Aaah, that's good too, Kaori."

"Hajime... er..."

"Don't worry, you did good too, Shizuku."

Yue, Kaori, and Shizuku were currently giving Hajime a massage. An honest to goodness, non-erotic massage. They were both fully clothed too. Hajime had modified some of Oscar's old clothes to fit them with the girls' help.

Hajime was sitting on a couch. Yue was massaging his arms while sitting on his laps. Kaori was massaging his shoulder from behind. Meanwhile, Shizuku was massaging Hajime's feet. Looking from any angle, it was the scene of successful harem protagonist who got pampered by his harem. It was a sight that would make all men become jealous and vomit blood in envy.

Over the course of the past two months, Hajime and Co had both improved their strength and equipment far beyond what it had been when they first arrived. These were Hajime's current stats, to put into perspective just how much they had grown.

* * *

 **Hajime Nagumo - Age: 17 - Male - Level: ?**

 **Job: Synergist**

 **Strength: 10950**

 **Vitality: 13190**

 **Defense: 10670**

 **Agility: 13450**

 **Magic: 14780**

 **Magic Defense: 14780**

 **Skills: Transmute [+Ore Appraisal] [+Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis] [+Duplicate Transmutation] [+Compression Synthesis] — Mana Manipulation [+Mana Discharge] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field —Underwater Breathe — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] [+Riftwalk] — Gale Claw — Night Vision — Far Sight — Sense Presence [+Precision Sensing] — Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing] — Sense Heat [+Precision Sensing] — Hide Presence [+Illusion Waltz] — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Fear Resistance — Elemental Resistance — Foresight — Diamond Skin — Steel Arms — Intimidate — Telepathy — Tracking — Increased Mana Recovery — Mana Conversion [+Stamina] — Automatic Regeneration — Limit Break — Creation Magic — Language Comprehension**

* * *

 **Kaori Sharashiki - Age: 17 - Female - Level: ?**

 **Job: Priestess**

 **Strength:** **8** **5** **8** **0**

 **Vitality:** **9** **1** **1** **0**

 **Defense:** **802** **0**

 **Agility:** **8** **450**

 **Magic: 1** **551** **0**

 **Magic Defense: 1** **551** **0**

 **Skills:** **Healing Magic [+Blessing] [+Miracle] [+Ten Thousand Heavens] [+Increase Effectiveness] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Rate] [+Increase Healing Range] [+Increase in Magic Power Efficiency] [+Continuous Activation] — All Elements Aptitude — Barrier Magic [+Light Severance] [+Holy Severance] [+Heaven Interruption] — High Speed Magic Power Recovery — Restrain — Examine — Focus — Infiltrate — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Bolt — Gale Claw — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs]** **[+Riftwalk]** **— Curse [+Petrifying Gaze] [+Poison Fog] [+Paralyzing Powder] [+ Bewildering Powder] [+ Devilish Charm] [+ Mental Interference]** **— Night Vision — Far Sight — Sense Presence [+Precision Sensing] — Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing] — Sense Heat [+Precision Sensing] — Hide Presence [+Illusion Waltz] — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Fear Resistance — Elemental Resistance — Foresight — Diamond Skin — Steel Arms — Intimidate — Telepathy — Tracking — Mana Conversion [+Stamina] [+** **Strength** **] — Automatic Regeneration — Limit Break — Creation Magic — Language Comprehension**

* * *

 **Shizuku Yaegashi - Age: 17 - Female - Level: ?**

 **Job: Swordswoman**

 **Strength:** **87** **50**

 **Vitality:** **9** **1** **5** **0**

 **Defense:** **81** **70**

 **Agility: 1** **56** **50**

 **Magic:** **8** **780**

 **Magic Defense:** **8** **780**

 **Skills:** **Swordsmanship [+ Thunder Flower] [+ Flash Claw] [+ Extreme Blade] [+ No Beat] [+ Flash Draw] [+ Gattling Slash] — Prediction — Stealth — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+ Aerodynamic][+ Lightspeed Step] [+ Sword Hand] [+All Stagnate] — Night Vision** **— Far Sight — Sense Presence [+Precision Sensing] — Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing] — Sense Heat [+Precision Sensing] — Hide Presence [+** **Shade** **Blitz** **] — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Fear Resistance — Elemental Resistance — Foresight — Diamond Skin — Steel Arms — Intimidate — Telepathy — Tracking — Increased Mana Recovery — Mana Conversion [+Stamina] [+** **Speed** **] — Automatic Regeneration — Limit Break — Creation Magic — Language Comprehension**

* * *

 **Yue/Aleytia** **Gardia Wespertrio Avatar** **\- Age: 317 - Female - Level: ?**

 **Job:** **Sorceress** **(Demigod)**

 **Strength:** **58** **50**

 **Vitality:** **7690**

 **Defense:** **5** **670**

 **Agility:** **5** **450**

 **Magic:** **2505** **0**

 **Magic Defense:** **2505** **0**

 **Skills:** **Magic Manipulation [+Magic Emission] [+Magic Compression] [+Remote Control] [+Efficiency Rise] [+Magic Absorption] — All Elements Aptitude — Compound Magic — Composition by Imagination [+Imagine Up] [+Simultaneous Compound] [+Delayed Invocation] — Blood Conversion [+Body Strengthening] [+Magic Conversion] [+Vitality Conversion] [+Magic Strengthening] [+Blood Pact] — High Speed Magic Recovery** **— Detect Magic [+Precision Sensing] — Sense Heat [+Precision Sensing] — Hide Presence [+** **Shadow** **Curtain** **] — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Fear Resistance — Elemental Resistance — Foresight — Diamond Skin — Steel Arms — Intimidate — Telepathy — Tracking — Increased Mana Recovery — Mana Conversion [+Stamina]** **[+Strength] [+Agility]** **— Automatic Regeneration — Limit Break — Creation Magic**

* * *

A person's level was meant to denote their current degree of growth compared to their max potential, and capped at 100. However, their body had undergone so many transformations after absorbing demon meat that after a certain point his level stopped growing even when his stats did, and finally his status plate had simply decided to mark his level as unknown.

It did make sense, considering their current stats would normally be unthinkable with the starting values they had initially begun with. Their upper limits as a human had increased with their stats, so it was safe to assume that their status plate was unable to calculate the limits of his potential with their body so transformed.

As a comparison, the hero Kouki Amanogawa's maximum stats were somewhere in the 1500 range. With the Limit Break skill, Kouki could temporarily triple those stats, but even then, they barely came up to one third of the weakest overall stats in Hajime's party who was surprisingly Yue since she transformed late. And thanks to the Hydra they had consumed, Hajime and Co gained the Limit Break skill too.

They had far surpassed their overpowered classmates and become an overpowered cheat themselves. Hajime was the most standing out because he started with the lowest level and stats.

Most average humans had maximum stats of no more than 100 to 200, while those who possessed a job ranged from 300 to 400. Demons and beastmen could have stats ranging anywhere from 300 to 600 depending on the individual race and its characteristics. If the hero, Kouki, was overpowered, then Hajime had to be some kind of monster. With how much he had changed both physically and mentally, monster probably was the best description for him.

Hajime had plundered Oscar's workshop. A handy piece of equipment he'd obtained was the "Treasure Trove." This was a ring-shaped artifact that had a small one centimeter ruby set in its center. The ruby was actually an artificially created dimensional space where things could be stored. It was like a bag of holding, basically. Hajime wasn't sure exactly how big this space was, but it was large enough to hold a decent amount. There had still been space left over even after he had crammed all of his weapons, tools, and crafting materials inside it. It only took a little bit of mana to activate the magic circle engraved on the ruby to add or remove things to it. Anything within one meter of the ring could be deposited, and withdrawn objects could be placed anywhere within the same radius.

It was a very handy artifact by any measure, but for Hajime it was especially useful because of his weapons. Because the ring could transport withdrawn objects anywhere within one meter of the ring, Hajime had toyed with the possibility of reloading with it. When he had put his theory to the test, he met with limited success. While the ring wasn't precise enough to let him warp the bullets directly into his magazine, it could bring them out perfectly aligned in position to be loaded. So instead he combined his skills together to teleport the bullets into the air above his gun chamber and let them fall into the magazine. It was an impromptu form of midair reloading.

The only type of gun suited to that style was a break-action revolver. Unfortunately, break-action revolvers weren't as powerful as swing-out revolvers. However, reloading a swing-out revolver in midair was also far more difficult.

In order to remedy the situation, Hajime had created a makeshift kind of swing-out cylinder. Part of it swung out to the top to allow for midair reloading. By manipulating his mana, he could discard old shells as well. Then all he needed to do was spin the chamber and let the bullets fall into place.

It had taken him only a month of nonstop training to perfect this technique. And there was a reason he managed to master this superhuman feat in only a month. His Riftwalk ability. Riftwalk not only gave him the ability to heighten his other movement skills, but it also enhanced his five senses to their limit. It made it seem as if the rest of the world was moving in slow motion, which was what made midair reloading possible. However, it still couldn't be compared with Shizuku's new movement skill, which basically stopped the time itself for some time.

On top of improving his weapons, he had also crafted a two-wheel mana-powered vehicle, Steiff, and a four-wheel mana-powered vehicle, Brise. As their description suggested, they used mana as fuel. Their frames were covered with Azantium, the hardest metal in existence. Both of them were loaded to the brim with weapons too. For all his transformations, Hajime was still a boy at heart. He still had a burning passion for all things military.

If a certain silver eyed weapon nuts saw that, she would declare Hajime as her soulmate right here and now. Fortunately, they were separated by barrier between dimensions or Yue and Kaori would throw a fit.

There had been times that he had gotten so focused on his crafting that Yue had started to sulk, and he had all sorts of fluids sucked out of him before she forgave him, and Kaori and Shizuku watched him with painfully understanding eyes. He had also developed something he called the Demon Eye.

Hajime had mulled the idea of exchanging one of his eyes with magical eye all Chuunibyou would sell their soul to devils to get one. At this point, Hajime hadn't realized his chuunibyou syndrome slipped out the leash without him realizing. Alas, Hajime found out it was impossible because his eye would regenerate back after being plucked out. When he forcefully pushed the 'Demon Eye' into his eye's socket, the 'demon eye' was pushed out by his Automatic Regeneration. In the end, he settled with a lens that had the same ability of his prototype demon eye. He still called it Demon Eye in the end.

He created the demon eye for a piece of the Divinity Stone with Detect Magic and Foresight, which created an artificial eye that saw different things than a normal one. When it was turned into a lens, it retained the effects. He also added the needless cosmetic makeup in the lens. When he infused the lens with his mana, a complicated small magic circle that didn't have any mean would appear in the middle of the lens. He got a kind consoling gaze from his girls, to which he felt annoyed for some reason.

His Demon Eye couldn't see things his normal eye could. Instead, it saw the flow and strength of mana surrounding a person or object, its color, and the element and "core" of the spell they were trying to activate. The core of a spell was basically the gist of how it was being activated and the effect it was attempting to enact on the world. He had known that the effects of a spell were governed by the inscriptions inlaid into the magic circle invoking the spell, but until now he had never considered the possibility that the spell and the magic circle must somehow have been linked for the circle to continue directing the spell after it was invoked. None of the books he had read in the palace had mentioned anything of the sort. It was quite possible he had made a new discovery in the field of magic. Especially considering that even Yue, who was an expert in magic, hadn't known anything about it either.

Much like Sense Presence, Detect Magic as a skill only gave Hajime a vague idea of the position and amount of mana being used. It wasn't much better than an alternate way of searching for enemies. However, with the enhanced Demon Eye, he could pinpoint the exact amount of mana being poured into what kind of spell, and because he could see the spell's "core," it was possible for him to shoot it down and nullify the spell entirely.

Shooting down a spell's core required an extreme amount of precision, though, so it wasn't always practical. The reason he had used the Divinity Stone as the base material for his eye was because no other ore would have worked. Hajime's guess was that only the Divinity Stone could hold enough mana to maintain the spells he had imbued it with. He was still unskilled at using his newly acquired creation magic, which was why he had only been able to add two spells to the Divinity Stone so far. But considering how much mana it could hold, he suspected he would be able to add even more spells to it once he got better at using his creation skill.

Shizuku had offered him an idea jokingly for adding other spells that could summon black fire when he gazed at his enemy, create illusion that messed up with the target's time perception, and create a solid mana construct around him as a barrier. Yue didn't know the reference but Hajime and Kaori understood it. Nevertheless, Hajime didn't dismiss the idea.

Surprisingly enough, Shizuku's ideas and advices were usually very useful like the revolver/short sword and lightning bullet launcher/spear he created for himself and Kaori.

Since the Demon Eye was made out of Divinity Stone, it was constantly giving off a faint glow. In other words, his lens covered eye was always glowing. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to do anything about it, so he gave up and covered it with a black eyepatch. When Kaori asked why he did such needless thing, much to his chagrin, Hajime made a convoluted presentation about how his 'Demon Eye' was useful to find hiding enemy and to counter ambush and whatnot.

Besides Demon Eye, Hajime also created a gauntlet for his left arms. The gauntlet, white hair, an edgy looking gauntlet covering his arm, and an eyepatch— Hajime looked like some kind of edgy anime protagonist now. The kind that might have spouted cliched lines like, "Be still, my sealed left arm!" When he had seen himself in the mirror, Hajime had been so depressed that he had spent an entire day moping in bed. The girls had to resort to some rather... drastic measures to finally cheer him up. Yue and Kaori didn't understand his pain. Only Shizuku who realized the cause of his depression.

Hajime had upgraded his weapons too. He had upgraded his weapons with Azantium for the frame and bullets, making it harder than before. And since he no longer had to worry about carrying it around thanks to the ring, he lengthened the barrel as well, increasing its range and power. He had also added a new gun to his arsenal— Metzelei, a railgun-enhanced gatling gun that could mecha-shift into revving engine broadsword also a chainsaw that could cut through almost anything with high intensity vibrations.

It was a monster of a weapon, with six rotating barrels capable of firing 12,000 30mm caliber rounds a minute. He had used creation magic to form the barrel out of a special, self-cooling ore, but even then he could only fire consecutively for about five minutes or using the chainsaw mode before the gun/chainsaw hybrid ran the danger of overheating. Plus, it needed a long time to cool before he could use it again.

Also, as a way to gain complete combat superiority, and simply because Hajime thought it was cool, he had created a rocket launcher that could transform into a futuristic halberd called Orkan. It had a rectangular barrel, and boasted a large magazine allowing for 12 consecutive shots. He could fire different varieties of rockets too.

He had also created a sister revolver to Donner, Schlag-Schmitt. His preferred style of combat was close quarter gun combat, gun fu basically, with Donner-Schmitt and Schlag-Schmutt overpowering his enemies with the shot and the slash. The reason he had settled on close combat was to work more efficiently with Shizuku as another front liner and Yue and Kaori, who were a stereotypical back liner. That being said, he could fill any role in a party with the variety of equipment he had at his disposal.

Hajime had created a wealth of other miscellaneous tools and equipment. However, the Divinity Stone had finally lost most of its original mana, and had ceased producing Ambrosia. He only had four dozens of precious vials of it left. He had tried suffusing it with mana again, but the stone had refused to produce any more Ambrosia. The reason being that mana had to be concentrated in the stone over centuries in order for it to take effect.

But even then, Hajime didn't throw it away. It was, after all, the person— or rather stone, that had saved his life. It was a sheer stroke of luck that he had found it at all, and without it, he would have died for sure. Which was why he was so attached to it. He loved it as much as that one plane crash survivor from a certain movie had loved his volleyball.

So instead of discarding it, he had made use of the fact that it could store boundless amounts of mana to make his Demon Eye. He had then carved the remainder of the stone into a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a ring that he decided to gift to his girls as the symbol of his proposals to them.

Yue could use extremely powerful magic, all without incantations or magic circles, but because she could so easily pour mana into her spells, she quickly ran out and became unable to move. But by storing mana in her Divinity Stone jewelry beforehand, she would be able to use them as a battery, allowing her to fire off powerful spells one after another without collapsing. Kaori had similar problem, though she was mostly a support and a healer with some odd offensive attacks. Shizuku, on the other hand, had accessories that were enchanted with some strengthening spells, barriers spells, and healing spells that could be activated when she infused her mana into them.

* * *

Ten days later, Hajime and his girls finally decided to return to the surface.

As he began activating the magic circle on the third floor, Hajime quietly spoke to his girls.

"Everyone... my weapons and our powers are probably considered heresy to the Holy Church. I doubt they or the various human kingdoms are going to just let us roam free."

"""Yeah..."""

"They'll ask us to give up our artifacts or try and force us to help them in their war."

"""Yeah!"""

"If it was just humans we had to deal with, it wouldn't be a huge problem, but those crazy gods pulling everyone's strings are probably gonna be after us too."

"""Yeah!"""

"We might end up making the entire world our enemy. No matter how many lives we have, it might not be enough to come out unscathed."

"""So what...""" Hajime smiled at her girls' unconcerned responses. They looked up at him, and he firmly nodded his head to them in response. He looked deeply into their crimson eyes, and saw that they were glowing with happiness and determination. After a moment, he took a deep breath, then spoke aloud his hopes and convictions in order to carve them into his soul.

"I'll protect you, and you'll protect me. As long as we watch each other's backs, we'll be stronger than anyone. We'll beat down anyone who stands against us and bust our way out of this shitty world!"

Yue and Kaori held their hands up to their chests, as if carving Hajime's words into their own soul as well. Yue's deadpan expression crumbled, fading away to reveal the most beautiful smile in the world. Shizuku did the same thing, albeit she only held a single hand up to her chest while her other hand was stroking the upgraded Raikiri's handle. Kaori and Shizuku had a graceful and refined smile that spoke their confidence and resolution.

They answered with the same single syllable they used so far.

"""Yeah!"""

* * *

 _ **AN: Sorry, I held back the talk between Hajime and Shizuku and the lemons. The talk will appear later. Not sure for lemons thought. Anyway, the first arc is considered complete with this chapter. The next arc will show how different this story with the canon. Don't forget to review!**_


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